PlayStation Network is back online following a lengthy outage

An illustration of the PlaySation “PS” logo overlayed on swooping blue and teal colors
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 console users are now able to play online games again following a massive outage on Sony’s gaming network that started on Monday night. The official PSN Service Status page briefly said that “all services are up and running” were up and running on Tuesday morning before slipping back into the red in the game streaming section as of 8:25AM ET.

The message currently reads, “You might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.”

The overall outage lasted for around eight hours, and impacted effectively every PlayStation system across “Other, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, PS5, Web.” While the problem seems largely…

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Author: Richard Lawler

Hurricane Helene disrupts critical chip mining operations in North Carolina

A photo showing a collapsed roadway in Old Fort, North Carolina
The aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina. | Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Companies mining high-purity quartz in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, have paused operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The quartz is a critical component of the chip-making process — and it’s only found in Spruce Pine.

The two mining companies in the area, Sibelco and The Quartz Corp, confirmed that flooding, power outages, and employee displacement have led them to stop their work. In a statement on its website, Sibelco confirmed that it has “temporarily halted operations at the Spruce Pine facilities in response to these challenges” since September 26th:

We are working closely with our local team to safely restart operations as soon as we can and are actively coordinating with local authorities and other partners to manage…

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Author: Emma Roth

Your front door is the key to the smart home

Photos of various video doorbells, over a Vergecast illustration.
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

When we talk about the smart home, we often talk about grand visions of perfectly automated everything. You know the ones: you wake up well rested thanks to some bedside light thing, and as you stretch luxuriously toward the ceiling, a sensor notices and turns on the coffee pot, starts steaming the sauna, and plays a curated playlist of all your favorite songs. It sounds nice! It is… mostly not how the smart home actually works.

But you know what does work and is pretty smart? Swapping out the lock on your front door for something that lets you enter with a code or a fingerprint or even just knows when you’re nearby and opens right up. In recent months, we’ve seen a slew of smart locks, along with some new video doorbells, that make a…

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Author: David Pierce

Samsung is partnering with Ashley Furniture to sell you on the smart home

Samsung is selling the benefits of the smart home with a store-within-a-store concept at Ashley Furniture. | Image: Samsung

Explaining the benefits of the smart home isn’t always easy — it’s more of an “if you know, you know” deal. But that “aha” moment — when someone finally gets what’s so great about home automation — often comes when they see it in action. At least, that’s the theory Samsung is testing with its new partnership with Ashley Furniture.

The electronics giant has teamed up with North America’s No. 1 furniture retailer to debut a new in-store experience that pairs furniture with smart connected devices controlled by Samsung’s SmartThings, the company’s smart home platform.

According to a press release from Samsung, The Connected Home Experience powered by SmartThings is launching at Ashley Furniture’s flagship store in Brentwood, Tennessee,…

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Author: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Chromebooks are getting a new button dedicated to Google’s AI

The Quick Insert button replaces the search or launcher key that’s usually where the caps lock key would be on a Chromebook. | Image: Google

Google is announcing a pair of new Chromebooks today — Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 11 — and along with them, a brand-new button. Dubbed the Quick Insert button, it’s designed to give immediate access to some of Google’s latest AI features.

The new Quick Insert button will replace the search / launcher button on some Chromebooks going forward, starting with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus. Quick Insert is your one-stop shop for a host of new AI features: press it, and a menu pops up giving you quick access to features like “Help me write,” which can lend a helping hand with memos, emails, and eventually, AI image generation, according to John Maletis, VP of ChromeOS product, engineering, and UX.

The button is…

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Author: Sherri Smith