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Andor season 2 gives fans the Syril-Dedra partnership they've been cravingIt's a dynamic full of weird moments, according to the actors who play themKyle Soller and Denise Gough have also teased what to expect from their characters' dynamic throughout this season

Full spoilers immediately follow for Andor season 2 episodes 1 to 3.

Andor season 2 will take some very bold swings with the incredibly weird romantic relationship that develops between Syril Karn and Dedra Meero.That's according to Kyle Soller and Denise Gough, who told TechRadar that they're still struggling to truly "work out" what's going on between their characters one year on after filming wrapped on the Star Wars show's latest season.They aren't the only ones. Ever since Syril saving Dedra's life in Andor's season 1 finale – a moment that was infused with a strange romantic tension – fans have longed to learn if the pair would actually get together. Now that season 2's first three episodes are not only out, but also confirm they're involved in some form of romantic entanglement, viewers are equally fascinated by the dynamic that's played out thus far.Indeed, threads on numerous Star Wars-based Reddit pages are filled with fans commenting on the curious atmosphere that arises whenever the Imperial officers are in the same room. Other social media platform are similarly awash with people trying to dissect the clearly uncomfortable nature of their dynamic.

Are Syril and Dedra really in love? Soller and Gough don't believe so (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Fan examination of the romance between two members of Andor season 2's cast is sure to continue for weeks and months to come, too. Well, as long as some of them remain as fascinated by the relationship as Soller and Gough continue to be – the duo telling me they're still not sure what's actually going on between their characters in one of the best Disney+ shows' second and final season."I think it was really bold of [showrunner] Tony [Gilroy] to end season one with the two of them in this strange little cupboard [where they hide from the Ferrix rebellion]," Soller mused. "Now, going into the domestic intimacy of it all, and what that might look like for these two very strange animals, I think it's another masterstroke."

My biggest fear was 'Oh, great, they fall in love and then what?'Denise Gough, Andor season 2 actor

"But he [Tony] doesn't change them," Gough interjected. "Going into this season, my biggest fear was 'Oh, great, they fall in love and then what? What does domestication look like to them?'. But, once I got the scripts for season two, I was like 'Okay, it still looks weird and it's even more surreal than before.'"There was plenty for audiences to enjoy regarding the pair's relationship in one of 2025's new Star Wars TV shows throughout its first three chapters, too.

Anybody else feel that Dedra wears the proverbial trousers in this relationship? (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Whether it was the extremely uncomfortable nature of Dedra meeting Syril's overbearing mom Eedy in episode 3, or the general conversations that they engage in, it seems fans are smitten with this villainous duo enjoying some frivolity amid the evil nature of their day-to-day jobs as employees of the Galactic Empire.So, will the good times last? Predictably, Gough and Soller wouldn't be drawn on how this dynamic will evolve over the next nine episodes. That said, they drop a couple of teases that viewers are sure to pore over during the wait for new episodes to air on one of the best streaming services every Tuesday (US) and Wednesday (UK and Australia)."Relationships are all about power in one way or another," Soller said. "This is a beautiful realization of how that power imbalance can grow and take things in all kinds of directions. I always thought Syril wants Dedra, but I also think he wants to use her, so it's hard to get a read on where his motives truly lie."

The last thing I was expecting from #Andor S2 was a Syril and Dedra home life sitcom but I absolutely loved every second of it.Also, absolute mood: pic.twitter.com/Q5TRbjODtAApril 23, 2025

"At her core, Dedra is a monster," Gough added. "She does awful things based on where she's come from."Does she really care for Syril? I watch it as a viewer and I still don't know," Gough continued. "To me, she doesn't have that human programming inside her to make me think that she's in love with him. She's like a computer, but I also think that she definitely wants him. It's not a loving relationship where they turn down the lights and cuddle. It feels very transactional and strange. It baffles me and I still can't fully work it out."My full review of Andor season 2 doesn't contain any spoilers about where Syril and Dedra's relationship goes next. Nevertheless, it'll give you some hints at what will happen in the weeks to come. Read that for more insights and then check out more of my exclusive coverage on the series below.

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Discord CEO and co-founder Jason Citron has announced that he's stepping down from his leadership role at the chat app and being replaced by Humam Sakhnini, a former executive from Activision Blizzard. Citron will remain on Discord's board of directors, and fellow co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy will continue acting as the company's chief technology officer.

"From the very beginning, our mission has been about bringing people together around games," Citron said in a statement. "It’s a mission I’ve dedicated my career to, and I'm confident that passing the torch to Humam is the right evolution for Discord's future." While initially pitched as a way to talk to friend's before, during and after playing games, Discord has morphed into a much larger and more general social platform, serving "more than 200 million monthly active users worldwide," the company says.

There's an important financial context to Citron's move. The New York Times reported in March that Discord was meeting with investors to take the company public. Sakhnini has experience acting as a leader of a public company. He was also the President of King Digital — the creator of Candy Crush and other popular mobile games — after the company was acquired by Activision Blizzard. A veteran executive could be a natural fit to usher Discord to an IPO. Citron didn't deny the plan when GamesBeat asked if the company would go public: "As you can imagine, hiring someone like Humam is a step in that direction."

Just a few years ago, Discord was reportedly in talks to be acquired by Microsoft, which seemed like a natural fit alongside Xbox. The rumored $10 billion deal fell through, but both Xbox and PlayStation platforms got Discord integration.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/discords-ceo-and-co-founder-is-stepping-down-181851778.html?src=rss

Roku has launched two new weather-resistant home security camerasThe larger of the two has a battery life of up to two years on a single chargeRoku hasn't revealed prices, but the cameras will go on sale later this year

Streaming specialist Roku has launched a pair of new wireless security cameras that can send video footage straight to your phone or TV, letting you watch your yard without leaving the couch.The Roku Battery Camera can run for up to six months on a single charge, while the Battery Camera Plus runs up to two years. Both cameras are weather-resistant, and can be set up indoors or out in a few seconds.You can use the Roku Smart Home app or Roku Web View to customize your camera's settings, set up schedules, and receive notifications. The cameras can also be used as motion-detectors to activate some of the best smart lights or other connected devices.

(Image credit: Future)

Blink and you'll miss it

Real-world battery life will depend on which settings you choose and the weather (lithium-ion batteries tend to drain faster in cold conditions), but the Battery Camera Plus should be a serious rival to the Blink Outdoor 4, which also runs for up to two years before it needs recharging.Both the Blink Outdoor 4 and Roku Battery Camera Plus boast 1080p resolution with motion detection and notifications, but the Roku camera also offers color night vision rather than black and white, which could give it the edge over the Blink model if the price is right.You could also extend the Roku cameras' battery life even further by connecting an optional solar panel – something that's not possible with the Blink camera.Roku has yet to announce official pricing for the two cameras, but it says they will be available "in the coming months". We're hoping to test both ourselves so we can see whether they deserve a place in our roundup of the best home security cameras to secure your smart home.

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Meta AI, the most interesting thing you can do with Ray-Ban Meta glasses, will soon be available to more people. The company's Live Translation feature is rolling out to all the product's markets, and Live AI (where you can hold a free-flowing conversation about what you're looking at) will soon be available in the US and Canada. In addition, glasses owners in the EU can finally use Meta AI with their high-tech specs.

Live translation, previously available in early access, is now rolling out in every region where Ray-Ban Meta glasses are available. Handy for trips abroad or chats with locals who speak a different language, the AI-powered feature speaks a translation in your preferred language in real time. You can also view a translated transcript on your phone.

Live translation is available in English, French, Italian and Spanish. And if you download your preferred language pack in advance, you can use it without a Wi-Fi connection or even mobile data from your paired phone. You can launch the feature by saying, "Hey Meta, start live translation."

Meta

US and Canadian users can now use Meta's Live AI feature, which lets you ask questions about your surroundings without saying "Hey Meta" every time. (You can even interrupt it.) Another feature previously only available in beta, live AI lets you chat with your glasses in natural language about your environment, asking it to explain things like missing ingredients for a meal or the best wine to pair with it. You can say, "Hey Meta, start live AI" to begin.

In addition, Meta AI is finally rolling out to all of the product's supported countries in the European Union. And starting next week, EU countries will get the visual search feature that can answer individually prompted questions about your surroundings, but (unlike Live AI) can't perform a free-flowing conversation with interruptions.

The glasses' Instagram integration is also expanding. Meta says you can soon send and receive Instagram DMs, photos, audio calls and video calls on your Ray-Bans. They already supported calls and messages through WhatsApp and Messenger and your phone's messaging app, so the glasses now have a solid list of communications options. You can start by saying, "Hey Meta, send a message to [your recipient's name] on Instagram."

Meta

Music app support is expanding beyond the US and Canada. The company is rolling out support for Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Shazam in the product's non-North American regions. Once the update is live, you can ask your glasses things like, "Hey Meta, what's the name of this song?" or "Hey Meta, when did this album come out?"

Although no major hardware upgrades were announced today (the next revision with a screen is rumored to launch later this year), Meta and Ray-Ban are rolling out new styles for the second-gen glasses. These include new Skyler frame and lens color combinations, including the cat-eye-shaped Shiny Chalky Gray with Transitions Sapphire lenses and the "more timeless" Skyler Shiny Black with G15 Green lenses and Skyler Shiny Black with Clear lenses.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-is-bringing-smart-glasses-live-translation-and-ai-to-more-people-184546291.html?src=rss

Google has teased a redesign of the YouTube experience for TVs The update is coming "this summer" and includes improved navigationGoogle also announced a Multiview upgrade for YouTube TV subscribers

Twenty years ago today, the first video was uploaded to YouTube (the thrilling 'Me at the zoo'). To celebrate that milestone, Google has announced that YouTube's TV app experience is going to get a big upgrade soon. And as someone who watches a lot of big-screen YouTube, that's something I'm very much looking forward to.Google hasn't revealed a lot about the "TV viewing upgrade" it has planned. It's apparently coming "this summer" (which means sometime between June and September, if you're in the southern hemisphere). But it has revealed a screenshot (below) of what it'll look like, plus a few hints of what's coming.Apparently, we're going to get "easier navigation" alongside some "quality tweaks" and an improved playback experience. There will also be "streamlined access to comments, channel info, and subscribing". In other words, YouTube on your TV (not to be confused with YouTube TV) is going to become a lot more like the fully-featured browser experience.

(Image credit: Google)

Alongside the improved TV experience, YouTube TV subscribers will also gain the ability to build their own multiview experience. This four-way grid has traditionally been reserved for sports fans, but this is being opened up to non-sports content with a "small group of popular channels" in the "coming months". So if you aren't feeling quite distracted enough yet, this multiview update could be for you.

A subtle but important update

(Image credit: Google / YouTube)

I've been watching YouTube on TV for years and it's always felt a few steps behind the full experience. The Apple TV app, for example, was only given a comments section relatively recently – and while that might sound like a mixed blessing, I've always found comments to be an important part of the experience for the channels I follow.The incoming YouTube update for TVs appears to be more about design than functionality, but still looks a lot more modern and in tune with its mobile apps. There's a new button for adding the video to your playlists and it also appears to be easier to subscribe from within videos. There are no doubt more tweaks not shown in the single teaser image.YouTube is naturally reserving lots of features for Premium subscribers, too. As part of its 20th birthday announcements today, Google also revealed that a '4x playback speed' option is coming to smartphones for Premium subscribers (a service that costs $13.99 / £11.99 / AU$14.99 per month).I'm still sorely tempted to upgrade to YouTube Premium (particularly after reading my colleague David Nield's strong arguments in favor of doing so), but I'm glad to see YouTube is still upgrading the TV experience for us non-Premium mortals. Let's just hope it happens in the earlier rather than later interpretation of "summer".

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ChatGPT will now use The Washington Post to provide answers using the newspaper's reportingChatGPT answers will now include summaries, quotes, and article linksThe move builds on OpenAI’s growing roster of news partners and The Post’s own AI initiatives

The Washington Post has inked a deal with OpenAI to make its journalism available directly inside ChatGPT. That means, the next time you ask ChatGPT something like “What’s going on with the Supreme Court this week?” or “How is the housing market today?” you might get an answer including a Post article summary, a relevant quote, and a clickable link to the full article.For the companies, the pairing makes plenty of sense. Award-winning journalism, plus an AI tool used by more than 500 million people a week, has obvious appeal. An information pipeline that lives somewhere between a search engine, a news app, and a research assistant entices fans of either or both products. And the two companies insist their goal is to make factual, high-quality reporting more accessible in the age of conversational AI.This partnership will shift ChatGPT’s answers to news-related queries so that relevant coverage from The Post will be a likely addition, complete with attribution and context. So when something major happens in Congress, or a new international conflict breaks out, users will be routed to The Post’s trusted reporting. In an ideal world, that would cut down on the speculation, paraphrased half-truths, and straight-up misinformation that sneaks into AI-generated responses.This isn’t OpenAI’s first media rodeo. The company has already partnered with over 20 news publishers, including The Associated Press, Le Monde, The Guardian, and Axel Springer. These partnerships all have a similar shape: OpenAI licenses content so its models can generate responses that include accurate summaries and link back to source journalism, while also sharing some revenue with publishers.For OpenAI, partnering with news organizations is more than just PR polish. It’s a practical step toward ensuring that the future of AI doesn’t just echo back what Reddit and Wikipedia had to say in 2021. Instead, it actively integrates ongoing, up-to-date journalism into how it responds to real-world questions.

WaPo AI

The Washington Post has its own ambitions around AI. The company has already tested ideas like its "Ask The Post AI" chatbot for answering questions using the newspaper's content. There's also the Climate Answers chatbot, which the publication released specifically to answer questions and share information based on the newspaper's climate journalism. Internally, the newsroom has been building tools like Haystacker, which helps journalists sift through massive datasets and find story leads buried in the numbers.Starry-eyed idealism is nice, but there are some open questions. For instance, will the journalists who worked hard to report and write these stories be compensated for having their work embedded in ChatGPT? Sure, there's a link to their story, but that doesn't count as a view or help lead a reader to other pieces by the author or their colleagues.From a broader perspective, won't making ChatGPT a layer between the reader and the newspaper simply continue the undermining of subscription and revenue necessary to keep a media company afloat? Whether this is a mutually supportive arrangement or just AI absorbing the best of a lot of people's hard work while discarding the actual people remains to be seen. Making ChatGPT more reliable with The Washington Post is a good idea, but we'll have to check future headlines to see if the AI benefits the newspaper.

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Microsoft promised in a strange ad campaign last year that it would bring Xbox Game Pass to more than just its own gaming brand's hardware thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming. One of the previously announced platforms that it said would gain the ability to run Xbox Game Pass was smart TVs from LG. Today, LG announced that the Xbox app will begin rolling out to a collection of its smart TVs in 25 countries this week.

The Xbox app is compatible with select LG screens and monitors. According to the press release, the available models include "2022 OLED TVs, 2023 OLED, QNED, NanoCell and UHD TVs…which have been updated to software version 23.20.01 or higher." It will also be made available at a later date on LG's StanbyME screens. Once downloaded, the app allows members of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to stream select titles they already own or to access titles from the Game Pass library.

LG is the latest electronics manufacturer to offer the Xbox experience without the need to physically own an Xbox. Samsung has already done the same, and Amazon's Fire TV also has an Xbox app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/lg-smart-tvs-are-getting-xbox-game-pass-this-week-200422697.html?src=rss

I remember life before YouTube and life after. In the 20 years since Jawid Karim posted that first zoo video, YouTube has become a dominant force in media creation and consumption.It's built industries and stars and forever altered viewing habits. I'd argue that it's the reason we now get most of our information from social video. And while AI is fast becoming the source for every answer (and some videos), we still get things done with YouTube's voluminous guidance.As a long-time technology journalist, I'm embarrassed to admit I was a little late to the YouTube revolution, waiting to post my first video until almost 18 months after the initial launch. Even so, that first video made me a convert. I was so excited, I detailed the entire process in a PCMag post.

The video is in some ways emblematic of 2006's state-of-the-art. It's a silent, grainy 800-x-600 pumpkin carving animation. In hindsight, "Ghost Carves Halloween Pumpkin" looks awful, and yet, it set the template for a long and fruitful relationship, which even then featured many of the elements YouTube Pros rely on today.There's the pithy and key title, an accurate, if brief description, thumbs up marks (miraculously, no one gave me a thumbs down), and dozens of comments, including many that noticed my less-than-expert animation work.In those early days, it wasn't entirely clear what YouTube was meant for. Even the crew that launched it, Chad Hurley, Karim, and Steven Chen, could not agree on where the idea came from. At the time, Karim told USA Today that they wanted to build a platform where people could quickly discover highly publicized (trending) stories online. Others recall that the desire was a place where people could share videos of important life events.In a way, early YouTube is a reflection of all those intentions. Certainly, my own YouTube library, which is around 260 videos, is proof of that. It took me years to try my hand at becoming an official "YouTuber" but only after I learned the craft by watching thousands of other people's pro-level creations.There were, however, some who quickly recognized YouTube's storytelling potential. The breakthrough hit "Lonelygirl15" used YouTube's early confessional style to tell a complex story that, for a time, many people believed was real.The story ran on YouTube for a few years, but it was soon just one of many tales and, as I see it, lost among an explosion of YouTube talent that started using the platform as a way to convey lengthy monologues and details about their interests in science, technology, entertainment, DIY, and more.

We are all made of Stars

YouTube was the first media platform to lower the bar between filmed content and an audience. You no longer needed a TV network or film producer to greenlight your idea. If you could film and edit it, you could attract an audience.When my 46-second Pumpkin animation was unexpectedly featured on YouTube's homepage, my views exploded. The short video soon boasted well over 200,000 plays. I spent years trying to recreate that success, but that was another early lesson of YouTube: virality is not promised.It tickles me when TikTokkers moan about how the algorithm has abandoned them as if every video is supposed to hit 2 million views. YouTubers know all too well the vagaries of a platform and editors (then) and algorithms (now).YouTube made stars of people like Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes (don't let people tell you that it was all Vine). YouTubers like MKBHD and iJustine have built and held onto enviably devoted audiences that I think most network television shows would kill for. (If you want to have some fun, visit any of these YouTubers' pages, go to the video tab, and click on the "Oldest" link to see their first YouTube videos.)

In the meantime, YouTube altered our viewing habits and may have helped smooth the way for streaming platforms like Netflix, which launched its streaming platform two years after YouTube.Watching high-quality videos online was quickly becoming an ingrained habit when Netflix first dumped Lilyhammer on us, but thankfully, it followed with House of Cards.Over time, YouTube transformed from a place for sharing short, interesting videos to long-form, lean-back experiences. Today, it's stuffed with video podcasts, hour-long videos that couldn't survive on TikTok.The transition from virality to information happened years ago, though. 2025's YouTube is as much about information as it is about entertainment. Parent company Google certainly assisted in this. How many times have you Googled how to do something and found a YouTube video that shows you exactly how it's done?I'm not sure how I accomplish any unfamiliar tasks without YouTube's steady tutelage. With it, I've done everything from jump-starting my car to installing a bathroom fan, all under the confident guidance of a YouTube video.YouTube's knowledge base across a wide range of topics is truly encyclopedic. I challenge you to find a topic that doesn't have a dozen or more video tutorials.In truth, the world learns differently because of YouTube.

Generation YouTube

A 2022 Pew Research study found that 95% of teens use YouTube. TikTok was close behind, and by now, it may be neck and neck. Still, learning from video and using it as your foundational source for news and forming opinions is all YouTube's doing. I understand that people still watch cable news and form opinions based on specific information bubbles, but online video wasn't a primary news source until YouTube came along.And it's not just young people. Statista found that people across all age ranges are watching videos, and the next generation will too, as 80% of parents said their under-11-year-olds are also watching YouTube.I've seen these kids in their strollers, iPad in hand, staring intently at the latest Ms. Rachel video. And with YouTube entering its third decade, we are now living among adults who literally grew up with the platform. They've never known a world without YouTube, and their expectations for content are largely shaped by what they found there.My point is, we made YouTube, and then YouTube made us. Happy 20th Birthday, YouTube.

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Chemical-free recycling supports U.S. supply chains and cuts landfill wasteRecovered materials support electric cars, wind power, and advanced electronics manufacturingSustainable end-of-life plan redefines future for storage in U.S. data centers

A new pilot program from Microsoft and Western Digital has demonstrated a novel method of recycling rare earth elements (REEs) from decommissioned hard disk drives.The initiative, developed in collaboration with Critical Materials Recycling (CMR) and PedalPoint Recycling, successfully recovered nearly 90% of rare earth oxides and around 80% of the total feedstock mass from end-of-life drives and related components.Using materials sourced from Microsoft’s U.S.-based data centers, the project processed approximately 50,000 pounds of shredded HDDs and mountings, converting them into high-purity elemental materials. These can now be reused across key sectors such as electric vehicles, wind energy, and advanced computing.

Old HDDs now have more value

The project employs an acid-free, environmentally friendly recycling process that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 95% compared to conventional mining and refining.This approach not only recovers rare earths like neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium, which are essential for HDD magnetic systems, but also extracts valuable metals including copper, aluminum, steel, and gold, feeding them back into the U.S. supply chain. It shows that even external hard drives can have an eco-friendly second life.Despite the critical role of rare earths in cloud infrastructure, current domestic recycling efforts in the U.S. recover less than 10% of these materials.Meanwhile, over 85% of global REE production remains concentrated overseas, but this pilot aims to change that, offering a scalable, domestic solution that reduces landfill waste, enhances supply chain resilience, and lowers dependence on foreign sources.“This is a tremendous effort by all parties involved. This pilot program has shown that sustainable and economically viable end-of-life (EOL) management for HDDs is achievable,” said Chuck Graham, corporate VP of cloud sourcing, supply chain, sustainability, and security at Microsoft.Acid-free dissolution recycling (ADR), a technology developed at the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub, was central to this achievement.“This project is significant because HDD feedstock will continue to grow globally as AI continues to drive the demand for HDD data storage,” said Tom Lograsso, director of CMI.Via StorageNewsletter

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Sustainability Week 2025This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we're running to observe Earth Day 2025 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2025 content.

If you’re looking for sustainability-themed mobile games that are as fun as they are educational, you’re in the right place.To celebrate TechRadar’s sustainability week, we've handpicked a selection of games about environmental sustainability that you can play on the go. These games teach you about the delicate balance between man’s needs and nature, see you cleaning up islands and cities, and task you with tackling sustainability at a grassroots level.Here are our picks of sustainability-themed mobile games for adults and children.

1. MeteoHeroes

(Image credit: Gammera Nest)

Based on the TV series of the same name, MeteoHeroes is an action-packed adventure that sees you fighting for a cleaner planet.You travel the world, visiting nine famous locations threatened by chaos and pollution, and utilize your weather-controlling powers to defeat the Maculans and clean them up. MeteoHeroes is aimed at kids and is a great way to get them interested in environmental issues.

2. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

(Image credit: ustwo Games)

From the award-winning studio behind Monument Valley, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a cozy, family-friendly collectathon with stunning handcrafted visuals.You play as Alba, who visits her grandparents on a Mediterranean island only to find the paradise is struggling with a serious pollution problem. Alba sets out to clean up the island by forming a wildlife organization but needs to convince the island's inhabitants to join her cause.This wholesome adventure focuses on the power of good deeds and the importance of sustainable environments for wildlife and is great fun for adults and kids alike.

3. World Rescue

(Image credit: ZU Digital/UNESCO MGIEP)

Inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and aimed primarily at young people, World Rescue is a narrative, research-based game set in Kenya, Norway, Brazil, India, and China. You meet five young heroes working for change and help them solve global problems, like displacement, disease, deforestation, drought, and pollution, at the community level.This game consists of several fast-paced mini-games, which involve activities like shopping for low environmental impact food, distributing food and water, and platforming, making it thoroughly action-packed but hard-hitting.

4. Never Alone: Ki Editition

(Image credit: E-Line Media)

Never Alone is a staggeringly beautiful, atmospheric puzzle platformer created in collaboration with the Iñupiat, an Alaska Native people, with the story taken from a traditional Iñupiat tale that's been shared across generations.In this game, you play as Nuna and Fox – switching between the two as you please – who set out to find the source of an eternal blizzard that threatens the survival of everything they have ever known. Never Alone explores the Iñupiat's close relationship with nature and gives us an insight into their fascinating culture.

5. WWF Free Rivers

(Image credit: WWF Free Rivers)

WWF Free Rivers is really more of an augmented-reality app than a game, but it could be classed as an education game due to its interactive elements so we're counting it.This immersive storytelling experience lets you see the importance of rivers in five distinct habitats based on real places: the Himalayan mountains, tropical jungles, African savannah, South American grasslands, and Southeast Asian deltas.You'll find out how each of these rivers plays a pivotal part in the lives of the people and wildlife that live near them, and get to see what happens if its flow is affected. For example, you can put a dam in the river and see what the outcome would be. This is an interesting experience that emphasizes how interconnected nature is and the importance of rivers in sustaining ecosystems.

6. Get Water!

(Image credit: Decode Global Studio)

In endless side-scroller, Get Water!, you play as Maya, an avid student who keeps being pulled out of class to collect clean water.Your quest is made more challenging by pesky monkeys, flying turtles, and other foes that you fend off with your boomerang. As you collect more water, you unlock new skills from school to collect it faster and better protect it. Get Water! highlights the struggles a lack of clean water can have on children's education and how water can be better preserved.What's more, the proceeds from this game go to charity: water, which aims to bring clean water to developing nations.

When Disney Cruise Line opened its new island destination in the Bahamas – Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point – it wasn’t just a vacation spot for island visitors. Instead, in coordination with its Animals, Science, and Environment (ASE) team, the brand launched a major conservation project that combined wildlife biology with modern technology, including radio telemetry and 3D printing.While Disney Lookout Cay opened in June 2024, planning had been underway well before then, with the ASE Conservation team included from the start. A key decision was that Disney wouldn’t develop more than 16% of the land.“We were going to leave a lot of the critical habitat, such as forest habitat, intact for the animals that were already living there,” Lauren Puishys, a Conservation & Science Tech with Disney’s ASE team, explained.“We created an environmental impact analysis before any construction began,” Puishys said. That then turned into an Environmental Management plan, which was focused on learning about the bird population on the island and protecting them.

Sustainability Week 2025This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we're running to observe Earth Day 2025 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2025 content.

The team identified key zones on the island that would remain untouched based on where birds were nesting, migrating, or foraging – all gathered through on-the-ground fieldwork. “You're collecting every bird you see, every bird you hear, and you're just writing this down to make observations about how many of these birds are in this region,” Puishys said.One species quickly emerged as important, though – the great lizard cuckoo. “They're noisy, they're really cool looking,” Puishys explained, calling them ‘incredibly smart.’ Now, to track a population, though, in terms of patterns when moving around the island and where they were choosing to nest, Puishys and team combined old with new.

In this case, the team turned to the art of 3D printing to get close to the bird species in question, and then, through radio telemetry, mapped them on the island.“I need a very specific bird,” Puishys recalled telling her colleague, Jose Dominguez, a member of Disney’s ASE Behavioral Husbandry team. Though he’s 3D modeled a variety of enrichment items for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, he didn’t necessarily have experience modeling birds, so he called on other expert teams at Disney that did.

(Image credit: Disney Parks)

Disney has teams unsurprisingly well-versed in 3D modeling using CADs and tools like Blender. “They were like, ‘Oh, absolutely, I would love to work on this,’” explained Dominguez.They collaborated for months, refining the model through regular Zoom calls. “Lauren provided her input on if it was too big or it needs an extra toe, things like that,” said Dominguez. “Eventually, we got to our desired model shape, the great lizard cuckoo.”The model was printed in PLA, a plant-based plastic, which Dominguez said is what Disney routinely uses for deployments in “behavior-based enrichment.” The model was then coated with the same durable outdoor paint used across properties. More specifically, “an outdoors acrylic-based UV-resistant paint, and then with a protective clear coating on top.The outcome? A decoy bird coupled with audio recordings of real bird calls. It worked and was deployed.

The Great Lizard Cuckoo model in nature at Disney's Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. (Image credit: Disney Parks)

“We had it down there with the speaker underneath it, and we had two different types of calls on there,” Puishys said. “At one point, an actual great lizard cuckoo called back and forth to it… So it was actually trying to communicate with the model, which was incredible to see.”

We have infrastructure around property on the rooftops of buildings and cell towers that's actually created to pick up that signalLauren Puishys, a Conservation & Science Tech with Disney’s ASE team

Finally, a bird approached the decoy, and Puishys was ready for it. “I was in the woods, out of sight from the cuckoo but in sight of the model, so I could see it myself. And then all I had to do was step out of the woods, and the bird was in the net.”From there, the team attached a solar-powered radio telemetry tag to track the bird. “So there's small solar panels on it with a little antenna, and that's giving off a radio frequency of 434 megahertz,” Puishys said. “We have infrastructure around property on the rooftops of buildings and cell towers that's actually created to pick up that signal, which has an associated identifying eight-digit number and letter code for that animal.”

The Western Spindalis Radiotelemetry Tag, attached by the wildlife conservation biologists team. (Image credit: Disney Parks)

Thanks to the tag and the infrastructure installed around the island in an unintrusive manner, Puishys can now track bird movements from her desk in Florida.“We work pulling everything off of the cloud with an API key through the company, and we can just download it all to my desk using RStudio,” she said. “We’ve had it up now since pre-construction and now have over 35 million data points associated with this.”

We’ve had it up now since pre-construction and now have over 35 million data points associated with thisLauren Puishys, a Conservation & Science Tech with Disney’s ASE team

That data is captured through a highly structured array of nodes across the island, with about 25 of them being spaced around 400 meters apart.Further, the data is stored on those nodes, then sent to the sensor station, which processes it and is uploaded via a cellular network so that the team can access it from anywhere. That includes Puishys’s desk in Florida, and it’s the most data the ASE team has ever collected on a terrestrial species.

For Puishys, the most exciting part isn’t just the success of the project – it’s how early they were brought in. “I honestly think our involvement as a Conservation team in the development of Disney Lookout Cay was our biggest leap,” Puishys said. “It kind of blew me away… and it was a big part about why I was so happy to join the team and help out with the project.”The hope is that this approach – one that blends science, tech, and collaboration – becomes a template for future projects. “We hope that it worked out well enough that we can kind of be an example or a good model for other construction projects moving forward,” Puishys said.

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The PlayStation 5 is getting a software update that brings back the looks of yesteryear. After fans applauded the move to apply the appearances of past Sony generations to their consoles' home screens during the PlayStation 30th anniversary last year, the company said it was working on making those permanent aesthetic options. That promised return of the four retro UI looks is the highlight of the upcoming PS5 update.

Unfortunately, the start-up audio chimes that accompanied each generation are not coming back. But the visual part can be changed at will under the Appearance tab of the Settings menu.

The other big component of the upcoming software update is a feature called Audio Focus that can help increase immersion during a play session while using headphones or headsets. With these presets, players can choose to boost the voice, the low pitch sounds, the high pitch sounds or the quiet sounds. You can also set whether the amount of amplification is weak, medium or strong.

The PS5 update will begin its global rollout on April 24.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/retro-playstation-ui-options-return-permanently-to-the-ps5-230337414.html?src=rss

Anker reveals the Nebula X1 4K projectorFeatures include 4K resolution, Dolby Vision HDR support and 3,500 ANSI lumensThe X1 is touted as an 'outdoor projector'

Anker has revealed the latest 4K projector in its Nebula range, the X1.Anker, makers of some of the best projectors, such as the Anker Nebula Mars 3, says the X1 is its highest-performing projector yet. The X1 follows in the footsteps of Anker's Cosmos range, which has delivered some of the best portable projectors, including the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K.The 4K-resolution X1 uses an RGB triple laser light engine and is said to deliver 3,500 ANSI lumens. It's capable of displaying images up to 300 inches in size and its NebulaMaster technology is set to offer a 5000:1 native contrast ratio and 56,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Anker says it's the "perfect backyard projector for daytime and night-time use".The X1 has four side-firing internal speakers powered by a total of 40W, and a separate pair of wireless speakers is an available option. These speakers have 8 hours of battery life and are USB-C rechargeable.As an added audio feature, the X1's built-in speakers can be switched to subwoofer mode when combined with the wireless speakers, creating a 4.1.2-channel audio system.From a design perspective, the X1 can tilt up to 25 degrees, allowing for easy placement on a wall, table or floor. It also features AI Spatial Adaptation, which uses real-time auto focus, auto keystone, auto optical zoom and auto screen fit. There's a built-in micro gimbal for added adaptability, and it comes with a carry handle for easy portability.The X1 will also support Wi-Fi streaming with Google TV built-in for access to the best streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus.Another new feature is its liquid cooling system, which Anker says will limit fan noise to 26dB (at a distance of 1m).The Anker Nebula X1 will be available from May 21, starting at $2,199.99 / £2,199.99 (roughly AU$4,595 directly converted). An accessory bundle, with the two wireless speakers, a carry case and two wireless microphones designed with karaoke in mind, is available for $999.99 / £499.99 ($667 / AU$1,042 directly converted). Both will be on sale at Amazon and Nebula in the US and Nebula in the UK.

The ultimate summer projector?

(Image credit: Anker )

The headline of Anker's release of the X1 is that it is perfect for the outdoors day or night, its 3,500 ANSI lumens brightness putting it in the same category as the likes of the Samsung Premier 9 and Epson QB100, both of which we classed as 'super-bright'.Although the X1 sounds like it will be super-bright, even the brightest and best 4K projectors can still struggle with outdoor daytime viewing, as the lumens required to project a decent image in brighter viewing conditions can be a real challenge.However, 3,500 ANSI lumens is indeed very bright, and with the added benefit of Dolby Vision HDR, the X1 could produce images bright enough for outdoor viewing.Admittedly, it's not a cheap projector, but compared with other portable projectors with similar specs, such as the JMGO N1S Ultra 4K, it's competitively priced for what it offers.With the display specs listed and the option for an audio upgrade, plus two wireless microphones for anyone who fancies a bit of karaoke after their movie night, the Nebula X1 really could be the ultimate portable and outdoor projector cinema package. I'll be keen to get my hands on it and see how it fares.

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Character.AI's new AvatarFX tool can turn a single photo into a realistic videoThe video shows a still image speaking with synced lip movements, gestures, and longform performancesThe tool supports everything from human portraits to mythical creatures and talking inanimate objects

Images may be worth a thousand words, but Character.AI doesn't see any reason that the image shouldn't speak those words itself. The company has a new tool called AvatarFX that turns still images into expressive, speaking, singing, gesturing video avatars. And not just photos of people, animals, paintings of mythical beasts, even an inanimate object can talk and express emotion when you include a voice sample and script.AvatarFX produces surprisingly convincing videos. Everything from lip-sync accuracy, nuanced head tilts, eyebrow raises, and even appropriately dramatic hand gestures is all there. In a world already swirling with AI-generated text, images, songs, and now entire podcasts, AvatarFX might sound like just another clever toy. But what makes it special is how smoothly it connects voice to visuals. You can feed it a portrait, a line of dialogue, and a tone, and Character.AI calls what comes out a performance, one capable of long-form videos too, not just a few seconds.That's thanks to the model's temporal consistency, a fancy way of saying the avatar doesn’t suddenly grow a third eyebrow between sentences or forget where its chin goes mid-monologue. The movement of the face, hands, and body syncs with what’s being said, and the final result looks, if not alive, then at least lively enough to star in a late-night infomercial or guest-host a podcast about space lizards. Your creativity is the only thing standing between you and an AI-generated soap opera starring the family fridge. You can see some examples in the demo below.

Avatar alive

Of course, the magical talking picture frame fantasy comes with its fair share of baggage. An AI tool that can generate lifelike videos raises some understandable concerns. Character.AI does seem to be taking those concerns seriously with a suite of built-in safety measures for AvatarFX.That includes a ban on generating content from images of minors or public figures. The tool also scrambles human-uploaded faces so they’re no longer exact likenesses, and all the scripts are checked for appropriateness. Should that not be enough, every video has a watermark to make it clear this isn’t real footage, just some impressively animated pixels. There’s also a strict one-strike policy for breaking the rules.AvatarFX is not without precedent. Tools like HeyGen, Synthesia, and Runway have also pushed the boundaries of AI video generation. But Character.AI’s entry into the space ups the ante by fusing expressive avatars with its signature chat personalities. These aren’t just talking heads; they’re characters with backstories, personalities, and the ability to remember what you said last time you talked.AvatarFX is currently in a test phase, with Character.AI+ subscribers likely to get first dibs once it rolls out. For now, you can join a waitlist and start dreaming about which of your friends’ selfies would make the best Shakespearean monologue delivery system. Or which version of your childhood stuffed animal might finally become your therapist.

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As nice as it is to have a projector wired up in your home cinema, the flexibility a portable model offers is equally valuable. It means you can set up an impromptu big screen in your back yard during those glorious long summer evenings. But portable projectors also carry that whiff of not being as good, or being compromised, with less powerful sound and vision. It’s this issue that Nebula is looking to tackle with its latest flagship portable projector, the X1, which is designed to offer the power of a home projector in the body of a movable one.

The X1 is a triple-laser unit promising 4K UHD, Dolby Vision video with 3,500 ANSI lumens that should easily fill a 300-inch screen. You can place it on a stand, table or the floor, with the array capable of tilting up to 25 degrees to find wherever you’ve placed your screen. There’s a 14-element glass array inside the body, which the company says should provide reliable image quality for the life of the unit. It’s flexible, too, with an optical zoom letting you cast on a screen up to 200 inches wide from between 13 and 22 feet away.

Nebula

The other big problem with projectors is the sound quality, but Nebula thinks it’s solved that issue as well. The X1 not only has a quartet of side-firing internal speakers, but you can pay a little more to pick up a pair of wireless 20W satellite speakers with their own built-in batteries. Each satellite connects to the X1 over Wi-Fi and has a rated battery life of eight hours, plus they’re IP54 rated to ensure they won’t break if your movie night gets interrupted by a rain shower.

Nebula is also proud to boast that the X1 is the company’s first portable projector to get its own internal liquid cooling system. Liquid cooling is commonplace on higher end wired projectors, and Nebula says that its inclusion here enables it to get the fan noise down to 26 dB. That may or may not be a good thing depending on the talent levels of your friends given you can also buy a pair of wireless karaoke microphones with a rated battery life of 40 hours.

The rest of the spec list is what you’d expect, with the X1 running Google TV, plus a pair of HDMI ports (one with eARC). It’ll be available to purchase in the US on June 20 for $2,999, while the accessory pack on its own will set you back $999, but you can bundle both for $3,298. It’s a similar situation in the UK, where it’ll be ready to buy on May 21 for £2,199.99, with the accessory pack costing £500, but if you order between May 21 and June 15, you’ll get both for £2,350.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/nebulas-new-x1-4k-portable-projector-is-liquid-cooled-233025705.html?src=rss