Thomas Ricker

Sony sold 1.6 million PlayStation 5 consoles, about a third fewer than last year at this time, and says it has plenty of memory for the foreseeable future: > Regarding the impact of memory market conditions on PlayStation 5 hardware, we have secured the quantity of memory necessary to meet our projected sales volume for FY26, and there is no change to our plan for hardware profitability for FY26 to remain similar to FY25. In other words, there shouldn’t be any major PS5 restock panics or severe manufacturing shutdowns leading into big game launches (like GTA VI), but price increases are always on the table to maintain profitability. [Link: Sony raises guidance as Q1 profit beats forecast on strong gaming business

Per The New York Times: > Utah became the first state to legalize plug-in solar systems last year. Nine others, including New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado, have joined it, and lawmakers in California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and several other states are considering doing so. Here’s my review from 2024 in Europe where these so-called “balcony solar systems” have been gaining traction for years. [Image: https://platform.theverge/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/c86a8d8936024ea8908ff5cb59a1e90e_ezgif_video_to_gif_converter.gif.webp?quality=90&strip=all]

“Fake news,” is how he responded to a Wall Street Journal report on the possible sale of Tesla’s business in its second-largest market: > Now, some Tesla executives have been told to prepare for a separation of the China business ahead of a potential merger, a person familiar with those talks said. And Tesla advisers have discussed possible options for a separation, including a spinoff, sale or closure, another person said. Musk responded similarly to reports of mass layoffs at Twitter, canceling the $25,000 Model 2 ... you get the idea.

Tom Holland’s fourth stint as the web-slinging superhero brought in $927m ⁠in worldwide ticket sales, with $355m earned in North America alone. That makes it the second most lucrative opening weekend of all time both domestically and globally, behind only 2019’s Avengers: Endgame at $1.22b. [Link: Spider-Man: Brand New Day makes debut to $927m box office to land second biggest opening weekend in history

Using Antrophic’s Claude to exploit a security flaw that’s existed for decades, researchers successfully added and removed DNA profiles from files, meaning bad actors could theoretically frame an innocent person or erase a suspect. Equipment manufacturer Thermo Fisher has issued a software patch. There’s no evidence the vulnerability — which requires local lab access — had ever been exploited. [Link: Security Flaw Placed 30 Years of DNA Evidence at Risk of Hacking

AMZN surpassed $3 trillion in market value for the first time on the strength of accelerating cloud-computing revenue. It joins only Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Apple in ever reaching the milestone. It first crossed the $1 trillion mark in 2018. [Link: Amazon Joins Elite List of Stocks to Top $3 Trillion in Value

Only 3,300 more lawsuits to go, all filed by minors claiming that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat were designed to be addictive, resulting in harm to their mental health. The plaintiffs’ claims against Meta, Google, and Snap are still on track for a bellwether trial in October. The first case to reach trial resulted in a $4.2 million verdict against Meta and $1.8 million against Google. [Link: TikTok settling three teen social media lawsuits ahead of trial

The original satellite internet company “for rural America” has filed for bankruptcy after running out of cash and hemorrhaging subscribers to SpaceX. The service will continue to operate during proceedings, but will pivot away from consumers to focus on businesses and governments. It follows EchoStar’s Dish filing for chapter 11 protection in June. [Link: With Subscriber Counts Decimated by Starlink, Hughesnet Files for Bankruptcy

24 pts Peak Design's BagLev hook tucks away inside a pocket when not in use. | Image: Peak Design Peak Design's new City Line collection includes six lightweight bags designed for everyday carry. There's a 15-liter and 22L City Backpack, 15L City Tote, 6L and 12L City Crescent crossbody bags, and 2L City Sling. All…

‘I anticipate us to be able to acquire quite a few of their customers.'