Today on Decoder, we’re talking about the big Google antitrust trial that’s currently taking place in a federal courthouse. No, not the one you’re thinking of — it’s the second Google antitrust case in just as many months. The company lost a landmark case in August in which a court ruled that it had an illegal monopoly in search.
Technology
Why Google is back in court for another monopoly showdown
Google is back in antitrust court, this defending web advertising business.
This time around, the Department of Justice is claiming Google has another illegal monopoly in the online advertising market.
Unlike the search case, the ads case is both extremely complicated and somewhat harder to see. We all use search all day, and we’re surrounded by online ads all day, but while it’s easy to talk about search, no one really wants to think about how the ads get there or how much they really cost. And there’s added complexity here because of the intricate relationship between Google’s ad products and its search engine, which afforded Google the scale and resources to grow far faster than the competition — especially through aggressive acquisitions.
See, while Google figured out search advertising all by itself, it had to acquire its expertise in many of the other forms of online advertising, like display and video ads, by buying competitors. It then spent many years integrating and combining those companies and their products into a wildly complicated system known as an ad tech stack, basically an all-in-one shop for businesses and websites of all sizes to buy and sell ads, and creating, arguably, the world’s most sophisticated digital ad network.
To hear the rest of the industry tell it, Google maintained the dominance of that network pretty ruthlessly — most people don’t see the side of Google that makes the money, and that side is just as cutthroat and competitive as any big business.
Verge senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner has been at the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, basically every day this month to hear testimony from news publishers, advertising experts, and Google executives — and, ultimately, to see whether a federal judge hands the company another antitrust defeat. I brought Lauren on the show this week to help me break it all down and to get her take on which direction she thinks this case is headed next.
If you want to know more about everything Lauren and I discuss in this episode, check out these stories for deeper context and analysis on the trial and the history of Google’s ad business:
Google and DOJ return for round two of their antitrust fight | The VergeJudge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case | The VergeIn US v. Google, YouTube’s CEO defends the Google way The VergeGoogle and the DOJ’s ad tech fight is all about control | The VergeHow Google altered a deal with publishers who couldn’t say no | The VergeGoogle dominates online ads, says antitrust trial witness, but publishers are feeling ‘stuck’ | The VergeUS considers a rare antitrust move: breaking up Google | BloombergThis deal helped turn Google into an ad powerhouse. Is that a problem? | The New York Times
Decoder with Nilay Patel /
A podcast from The Verge about big ideas and other problems.
Sports
Is continuity enough to get the Bucks back into title contention?
The Bucks are heading into 2024-25 after back-to-back seasons of playoff disappointment. Will Dame and Giannis find their groove?
A few days after the official start of NBA free agency this summer, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers flew from his Los Angeles-area home to Miami for a recruiting visit. After the initial flurry of signings around the league were complete, Rivers was surprised to see a familiar face without a team -- shooting guard Gary Trent Jr.
Trent had known Rivers since he was 6 years old thanks to his father, Gary Trent Sr., whose NBA career overlapped with Rivers'. Trent Jr. had been a productive player with the Toronto Raptors for three and a half seasons but failed to reach an extension or find a multiyear deal on the free agent market. Word was out that Trent could be seeking a one-year deal for the 2024-25 season, and Rivers jumped at the opportunity.
The Bucks were seeking a replacement in their starting lineup for guard Malik Beasley and saw a youthful energy in Trent, who could fit smoothly alongside Milwaukee's superstar duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Signing Trent to a one-year deal served as the biggest offseason addition for a team that prioritized depth signings over bold moves. The Bucks also swapped out players such as Jae Crowder and Patrick Beverley, who saw their roles and production reduced during the postseason, for a new crew of veteran backups in Delon Wright and Taurean Prince.
After a year of change and turnover for the Bucks -- in the past 12 months they swapped Jrue Holiday for Lillard, and hired and fired coach Adrian Griffin before turning to Rivers midway through the season -- a quiet summer was welcome for a team that enters the 2024-25 season trying to balance the benefits of continuity with the urgency of its championship expectations.
"We have that stability," Antetokounmpo said the day after the team's first-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers. "We're not questioning and trying to figure out how it's going to look moving forward.
"Now that you know, you just got to work."
Bucks general manager Jon Horst was limited in his flexibility to change his roster this offseason. Milwaukee's draft picks were depleted by the trade for Holiday in 2020 and for Lillard last year. Because of the restrictions of the new collective bargaining agreement, the Bucks did not have salary cap space and weren't allowed to aggregate contracts, acquire a player via sign-and-trade or use the tax midlevel exception.
It left them with little options aside from adding players via the veterans minimum.
Besides, it had still been less than a year since Milwaukee swooped in for Lillard before training camp, sending a package to the Portland Trail Blazers that included Holiday -- the starting point guard on the Bucks' 2021 championship team -- who was then sent to the eventual champion Boston Celtics. It was a bold move that paired an All-NBA guard in Lillard with a two-time MVP in Antetokounmpo, with each being the most accomplished teammate either player had ever played with.
Lillard's arrival also paid off in another way, as Antetokounmpo committed to the Bucks by signing a three-year, $186 million max extension that begins this season.
Antetokounmpo inked his deal one day before the start of the season, but the Bucks' positive momentum didn't carry into the games.
Lillard was slow to adjust to a new environment and struggled to find on-court chemistry with Antetokounmpo. Griffin was fired 43 games into the season (with a 30-13 record) before the team turned to Rivers, who went 17-19. With Antetokounmpo missing the entire six-game series against the Pacers because of a strained left calf and Lillard limited by an Achilles injury, the Bucks crashed out in the first round of the playoffs for a second straight season.
When Rivers took over the team in February, he acknowledged how difficult it would be to turn a team around midseason. Now with a full offseason and training camp, he will have an opportunity to establish a style of play, including by adding role players who better fit his vision.
"Think about it: Giannis worked out all [last] summer not knowing he was going to have Dame," Rivers said the day after last season's playoff exit. "Dame worked out a little bit, not knowing he was going to have Giannis. Khris [Middleton], the same way. Now all three of them get to work out this summer knowing some of the things we're going to do.
"The most important stuff is the sets and the stuff that you're going to run, giving it to them long before camp starts. Because it's easy for a star player to understand what he can do, it's better when he understands how he can make everybody else better through those sets."
The Bucks are betting on a full offseason and training camp to help build chemistry for Lillard and Antetokounmpo. Still, they were encouraged by the numbers with those two players on the floor last season: The team was plus-10.2 points per 100 possessions last season when their two stars shared the floor.
"I'm willing to put in work this summer. I think I have guys around me that they're willing to do so," Antetokounmpo said at the end of last season. "I saw how Dame was after the [playoffs]. I saw how Khris [Middleton] was after the game. ... I know they're going to put in the work."
The question for Milwaukee is how the Bucks will compare to the rest of a stacked Eastern Conference.
Boston is coming off a historic season in which it won its league-leading 18th NBA championship. The Philadelphia 76ers just reloaded by adding superstar Paul George to play alongside Joel Embiid and emerging star Tyrese Maxey. The New York Knicks strengthened their core by adding Mikal Bridges. Emerging young teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Pacers, are on the rise, having finished with playoff spots last season.
Meanwhile, the Bucks return one of the oldest rosters in the NBA with four of their projected starters over 30. Antetokounmpo, who has been injured during the last two postseasons, turns 30 this season. Lillard will be 35 in October. Middleton is 34 and coming off offseason surgery on both ankles. Center Brook Lopez is 36.
"I always like a team that wins to have a little bit of experience, which comes from being a little bit older, knowing how to play the game and have that corporate knowledge of the game," Antetokounmpo said at the end of last season. "And a little bit of energy."
The age of its roster and the pressure to maximize each season of Antetokounmpo's prime -- "With Giannis, you're always on the clock," Horst told ESPN at the start of last season -- guided Milwaukee's bold moves over the past year in pursuit of another title.
Now the Bucks are counting on an offseason defined by continuity, a few additions to their depth and some better health during the postseason to give them a chance at another championship.
"We're getting older. We're not getting any younger, but that doesn't mean we cannot still perform at a high level," Antetokounmpo said. "It's hard to say, 'Yeah, we're old and you have to make changes.' Because these guys, they're beasts."
Trent had known Rivers since he was 6 years old thanks to his father, Gary Trent Sr., whose NBA career overlapped with Rivers'. Trent Jr. had been a productive player with the Toronto Raptors for three and a half seasons but failed to reach an extension or find a multiyear deal on the free agent market. Word was out that Trent could be seeking a one-year deal for the 2024-25 season, and Rivers jumped at the opportunity.
The Bucks were seeking a replacement in their starting lineup for guard Malik Beasley and saw a youthful energy in Trent, who could fit smoothly alongside Milwaukee's superstar duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Signing Trent to a one-year deal served as the biggest offseason addition for a team that prioritized depth signings over bold moves. The Bucks also swapped out players such as Jae Crowder and Patrick Beverley, who saw their roles and production reduced during the postseason, for a new crew of veteran backups in Delon Wright and Taurean Prince.
After a year of change and turnover for the Bucks -- in the past 12 months they swapped Jrue Holiday for Lillard, and hired and fired coach Adrian Griffin before turning to Rivers midway through the season -- a quiet summer was welcome for a team that enters the 2024-25 season trying to balance the benefits of continuity with the urgency of its championship expectations.
"We have that stability," Antetokounmpo said the day after the team's first-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers. "We're not questioning and trying to figure out how it's going to look moving forward.
"Now that you know, you just got to work."
Bucks general manager Jon Horst was limited in his flexibility to change his roster this offseason. Milwaukee's draft picks were depleted by the trade for Holiday in 2020 and for Lillard last year. Because of the restrictions of the new collective bargaining agreement, the Bucks did not have salary cap space and weren't allowed to aggregate contracts, acquire a player via sign-and-trade or use the tax midlevel exception.
It left them with little options aside from adding players via the veterans minimum.
Besides, it had still been less than a year since Milwaukee swooped in for Lillard before training camp, sending a package to the Portland Trail Blazers that included Holiday -- the starting point guard on the Bucks' 2021 championship team -- who was then sent to the eventual champion Boston Celtics. It was a bold move that paired an All-NBA guard in Lillard with a two-time MVP in Antetokounmpo, with each being the most accomplished teammate either player had ever played with.
Lillard's arrival also paid off in another way, as Antetokounmpo committed to the Bucks by signing a three-year, $186 million max extension that begins this season.
Antetokounmpo inked his deal one day before the start of the season, but the Bucks' positive momentum didn't carry into the games.
Lillard was slow to adjust to a new environment and struggled to find on-court chemistry with Antetokounmpo. Griffin was fired 43 games into the season (with a 30-13 record) before the team turned to Rivers, who went 17-19. With Antetokounmpo missing the entire six-game series against the Pacers because of a strained left calf and Lillard limited by an Achilles injury, the Bucks crashed out in the first round of the playoffs for a second straight season.
When Rivers took over the team in February, he acknowledged how difficult it would be to turn a team around midseason. Now with a full offseason and training camp, he will have an opportunity to establish a style of play, including by adding role players who better fit his vision.
"Think about it: Giannis worked out all [last] summer not knowing he was going to have Dame," Rivers said the day after last season's playoff exit. "Dame worked out a little bit, not knowing he was going to have Giannis. Khris [Middleton], the same way. Now all three of them get to work out this summer knowing some of the things we're going to do.
"The most important stuff is the sets and the stuff that you're going to run, giving it to them long before camp starts. Because it's easy for a star player to understand what he can do, it's better when he understands how he can make everybody else better through those sets."
The Bucks are betting on a full offseason and training camp to help build chemistry for Lillard and Antetokounmpo. Still, they were encouraged by the numbers with those two players on the floor last season: The team was plus-10.2 points per 100 possessions last season when their two stars shared the floor.
"I'm willing to put in work this summer. I think I have guys around me that they're willing to do so," Antetokounmpo said at the end of last season. "I saw how Dame was after the [playoffs]. I saw how Khris [Middleton] was after the game. ... I know they're going to put in the work."
The question for Milwaukee is how the Bucks will compare to the rest of a stacked Eastern Conference.
Boston is coming off a historic season in which it won its league-leading 18th NBA championship. The Philadelphia 76ers just reloaded by adding superstar Paul George to play alongside Joel Embiid and emerging star Tyrese Maxey. The New York Knicks strengthened their core by adding Mikal Bridges. Emerging young teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Pacers, are on the rise, having finished with playoff spots last season.
Meanwhile, the Bucks return one of the oldest rosters in the NBA with four of their projected starters over 30. Antetokounmpo, who has been injured during the last two postseasons, turns 30 this season. Lillard will be 35 in October. Middleton is 34 and coming off offseason surgery on both ankles. Center Brook Lopez is 36.
"I always like a team that wins to have a little bit of experience, which comes from being a little bit older, knowing how to play the game and have that corporate knowledge of the game," Antetokounmpo said at the end of last season. "And a little bit of energy."
The age of its roster and the pressure to maximize each season of Antetokounmpo's prime -- "With Giannis, you're always on the clock," Horst told ESPN at the start of last season -- guided Milwaukee's bold moves over the past year in pursuit of another title.
Now the Bucks are counting on an offseason defined by continuity, a few additions to their depth and some better health during the postseason to give them a chance at another championship.
"We're getting older. We're not getting any younger, but that doesn't mean we cannot still perform at a high level," Antetokounmpo said. "It's hard to say, 'Yeah, we're old and you have to make changes.' Because these guys, they're beasts."
Technology
Where to preorder Microsoft’s special edition Galaxy Black Xbox Series X
Microsoft’s $600 special edition 2TB Xbox Series X is up for preorder ahead of the October 15th launch. It’s no answer to the PlayStation 5 Pro, but it looks far cooler.
Before Sony went all in with a pricey mid-cycle console refresh by announcing its upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro, Microsoft laid out plans for a premium console with aesthetics at the forefront. The 2TB “Galaxy Black” special-edition Xbox Series X is mostly the same as the standard Series X, but it features a double-capacity SSD and a slick paint job. We’re inching toward its October 15th release, and interested parties willing to pony up the $599.99 asking price can already preorder one at Best Buy and directly from Microsoft.
Those who crave the pricier Xbox are primarily getting three unique things for their money:
2TB of built-in storage, which is twice the amount available on the standard $500 Xbox Series X (which can still be expanded with proprietary storage add-ons).A fresh paint job, if black is your thing, that’s reminiscent of the star-filled darkness of space. It shares some vibes with Microsoft’s previous limited-edition console, the Halo-themed Xbox Series X, and features green accents on its bottom stand.A unique controller with matching speckles on the D-pad and a splash of green on the bottom.
Those changes aren’t nearly as drastic as the new hardware on the PS5 Pro (which features a new GPU, among other performance benefits), but I must admit, the new Xbox looks sick.
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Xbox Series X – 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition
$600
A special-edition Xbox Series X with a unique starry design and an expanded 2TB of built-in storage. It’s the same as the standard Series X otherwise, with features like 4K resolution and Quick Resume.
$600 at Best Buy$600 at Microsoft
Outside of the above features, the Galaxy Black Xbox Series X will play all the same games as other Xbox Series X / S models and match the standard edition with its 4K resolution and 120fps frame rate (though it’s locked at 4K / 60fps or lower in most games). It features a Blu-ray drive, too, unlike the compact Series S and discless Series X, the latter of which launches alongside Microsoft’s limited-edition console in October for $449.99.
While the previous generation of Xbox One consoles saw the release of the mid-cycle Xbox One X, the upcoming PS5 Pro seems to be the lone spec-bumped premium console this generation. Documents revealed during the FTC v. Microsoft case showed a very different take on a refreshed Xbox Series X, complete with a cylindrical design and a new controller with a lift-to-wake feature. These new Xbox consoles are obviously not that, but Microsoft calling an audible on that plan is not terribly surprising since recent times have been tough for the Xbox division, with studio closures, layoffs, and plenty of strategy shifts.
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