Inside Fort Irwin, fake cities provide a training ground for real warfare

Inside Fort Irwin, fake cities provide a training ground for real warfare Twice a month in California’s Mojave desert, anyone can spend half a day in a war zone. The Fort Irwin National Training Center is meant to give soldiers a crash course in realistic combat before they deploy. The thousand-square-mile base contains everything from fake towns to caves for “insurgents” drawn from a regiment whose role is to provide an opp....

The best writing of the week, May 19

The best writing of the week, May 19 We all know the feeling. You’re sleepless in the sad hours of the night or stumbling around early on a hazy weekend morning in need of something to read, and that pile of unread books just isn’t cutting it. Why not take a break from the fire hose of Twitter and RSS and check out our weekly roundup of essential writing from around the web about technology, culture, media, and the future? Sure, i....

Verizon extends $60 and $70 prepaid plans to 2GB and 4GB of data

Verizon extends $60 and $70 prepaid plans to 2GB and 4GB of data Earlier this year, Verizon announced some new 3G prepaid plans for $60 and $70 dollars that offered 500MB and 2GB of data, respectively. Now, it looks like the company has silently bumped those allotments up to 2GB and 4GB without touching the price. Android Central reports that the changes go into effect immediately for those with existing plans, but new customers won’t g....

Verizon extends $60 and $70 prepaid plans to 2GB and 4GB of data

Verizon extends $60 and $70 prepaid plans to 2GB and 4GB of data Earlier this year, Verizon announced some new 3G prepaid plans for $60 and $70 dollars that offered 500MB and 2GB of data, respectively. Now, it looks like the company has silently bumped those allotments up to 2GB and 4GB without touching the price. Android Central reports that the changes go into effect immediately for those with existing plans, but new customers won’t g....

Former Google UK exec alleges company misrepresented sales to avoid paying taxes

Former Google UK exec alleges company misrepresented sales to avoid paying taxes Google and other tech companies have come under fire for exploiting a common tax loophole to book revenues through their Irish subsidiaries, but today The Sunday Times is reporting that a former Google UK executive has evidence of further tax avoidance by his one-time employer. Barney Jones worked for Google between 2002 and 2006 and says that during his time at ....

Valve announces ‘Robotic Boogaloo,’ the first ‘Team Fortress 2′ update built by the community

Valve announces ‘Robotic Boogaloo,’ the first ‘Team Fortress 2′ update built by the community Valve is pushing out another update to Team Fortress 2, its 356th since it first shipped the game as part of The Orange Box in 2007. But there’s something special this time around — the new content, titled Robotic Boogaloo, is the first to be created entirely by fans. Polygon reports that the update will have 57 vi....

ZTE and Huawei face EU investigation over predatory pricing

ZTE and Huawei face EU investigation over predatory pricing Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE and Huawei are set to face an EU investigation for anti-competitive behavior. Although the pair have both seen moderate success marketing their consumer devices in the region, the investigation is regarding the companies’ infrastructure equipment, which provides the backbone for the industry. In recent years Chinese companies have taken aro....

The Classics: Lush, ‘Spooky’

The Classics are must-see, must-read, must-play works revered by The Verge staff. They offer glimpses of the future, glimpses of humanity, and a glimpse of our very souls. You should check them out. British band Lush’s first full-length album, Spooky (4AD, January, 1992) is a relic of a past which no longer exists, but which incessantly reminds you that it once did. You hear its reverberations in predecessors like Black Tambourine and....

PS4′s ‘play while downloading’ feature arrives on PS3 first with ‘The Last of Us’

PS4′s ‘play while downloading’ feature arrives on PS3 first with ‘The Last of Us’ With the PlayStation 4, Sony is trying to lower the friction in buying games from PSN by letting you start playing games while they’re still downloading. Now it looks like the new feature will actually make it to the PlayStation 3 in time for the PSN release of Naughty Dog’s anticipated The Last of Us on June 14th. Speak....

Amtrak improves its notoriously-sluggish onboard Wi-Fi with 4G connectivity

Amtrak improves its notoriously-sluggish onboard Wi-Fi with 4G connectivity After years of sluggish service, train operator Amtrak has begun a network-wide overhaul of its onboard Wi-Fi service. Piggybacking on a number of different mobile networks, the new service uses 4G connectivity to improve speeds. The upgrade is already complete on the 400-mile Washington to Boston route, and has also rolled out on some state routes in California. Amtr....