So, I'd like to start this month's off-topic thread with a cheap plug.

A few months ago, SB Nation picked up several editors from a notable technology blog who were looking to start up their own venture. While said editors have been doing work over at a placeholder blog, the fruits of their work the past few months have been launched today, as The Verge.

The site is a general tech news blog - you'll get coverage from stuff like cell phones, computers, tablets, televisions, video games and other related fields. The real secret sauce, however, is in the comments section of every article. Since the site is owned by SB Nation (or now Vox Media, to highlight they're no longer just about sports), the same comment tech in SBN sites like Fear The Fin has been carried over to Verge's comments. The comments will update in real-time and the same commands we use to read and mark comments on SBN sites (such as Z and Shift-A) are usable there as well. Not only that, logins are shared between Verge and SBN, so you can simply re-use your SBN account if you want to comment on the site, and not need to sign up for yet another site account.

I'm writing about the site not as some sort of cross-company advertising, but because 1) I'm a huge technology nerd and a major site launch like this is huge; and 2) a good friend of mine I've known since high school is one of the senior editors at The Verge, and I want to get as many views to his and his colleagues' work as possible.

So if you're a technology enthusiast, a fan of the work SBN does, or just want to help a guy's buddy out, check out The Verge!