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MathWorks confirmed suffering a ransomware attackIt is bringing systems online but the process is taking timeNo threat actors have yet claimed responsibilityMathWorks, a prominent mathematical computing software developer, has confirmed suffering a ransomware attack that crippled its operations.In an announcement published on a dedicated status page, the company said the attack happened almost two weeks ago, and it still hasn’t been fully remedied. The company did start to tentatively bring operations back online.“MathWorks experienced a ransomware attack. We have notified federal law enforcement of this matter. The attack affected our IT systems,” the status page reads. “Some of our online applications used by customers became unavailable, and certain internal systems used by staff became unavailable, beginning on Sunday, May 18. We have brought many of these systems back online and are continuing to bring other systems back online with the assistance of cybersecurity experts.”Negotiations ongoing?The newest update, posted on May 27, says MATLAB Answers, Cloud Center, and File Exchange, have been restored for existing users. The latter is operating “in a degraded state with file viewing and GitHub sync not yet enabled.”MathWorks is best known for MATLAB and Simulink, two popular solutions used worldwide for data analysis, simulation, and model-based design in engineering and scientific applications, with its products used by more than 100,000 organizations and more than 5 million customers across the world.At press time, there was no information about the perpetrators, as no threat actors have yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and crucial details are still missing.We don’t know who the threat actors are, or if they stole any sensitive company or customer data from MathWorks’ systems, as is the usual practice with ransomware attacks.One of the possibilities is that the attackers are currently negotiating with the company, which is why the details are being kept hidden.Via BleepingComputerYou might also likeDragonForce ransomware hacks SimpleHelp RMM tool to attack MSPsTake a look at our guide to the best authenticator appWe've rounded up the best password managers

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2: key information- No release date confirmed yet- Announcement could be made at Netflix Tudum 2025- Production began in September 2024 and wrapped in May 2025- Main cast set to return from season 1- New cast additions revealed in November 2024 and Mat 2025- Story will reportedly feature a time jump- Its Nickelodeon animated TV namesake holds the key to where its plot will go next- A third and final season is now in productionAvatar: The Last Airbender season 2 could be released on Netflix sooner than any of us think. Indeed, with filming wrapped in May and the possibility of a launch date announcement being made Netflix Tudum 2025 on May 31, we could be reunited with Aang and company before the end of the year.Before Netflix's live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's animated classic returns to our screens, what do we know about it? Below, we've rounded up the latest information on Avatar season 2, including our prediction about when it'll be released, its confirmed cast, story specifics, and more.Full spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. Possible spoilers are also discussed for the show's sophomore season.Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 release date predictionThe Avatar will return. AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Seasons 2 & 3. Only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/sUnY5w6JgfMarch 6, 2024Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 doesn't have a release date yet. However, we've known it's been on the way for a while now. Indeed, Netflix renewed the hit fantasy show for two more seasons last March.Principal photography began in September 2024 and officially wrapped in May 2025. Now, we've just got to wait for post-production to be completed before one of the best Netflix shows' second season is available to stream.So, when do we think it'll be released? A release date of late 2025 to early 2026 isn't out of the question, especially with filming having been completed. Will we get more details – or, whisper it quietly, an actual launch date reveal – at Netflix Tudum 2025? That would be enough to make us shout "Yip yip!"Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 trailer: is there one?Prepare yourselves for season 2's official teaser, whenever it'll be released (Image credit: Netflix)A trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 hasn't made its debut yet. Once one is released, we'll update this section.Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 cast: confirmed and rumoredCommander Zhao's return in season 2 seems unlikely (Image credit: Netflix)Full spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1.Here's the confirmed cast for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 so far:Gordon Cormier as AangKiawentiio as KataraIan Ousley as SokkaDallas Liu as ZukoDaniel Dae Kim as OzaiPaul Sun-Hyung Lee as ZukoElizabeth Yu as Princess AzulaMiya Cech as TophChin Han as Long FengJustin Chien as King KueiAmanda Zhao as Joo DeeCrystal Yu as Lady BeifongKelemete Misipeka as The BoulderHoa Xuande as Professor ZeiLourdes Faberes as General SungRekha Sharma as AmitaMadison hu as FeiDichen Lachman as YangchenDolly De Leon as Lo and LiLily Gao as UrsaTerry Chen as Jeong JeongJon Jon Briones as PiandaoTantoo Cardinal as HamaThe first seven actors will reprise their respective roles from the series' first outing. Everyone else from Cech onwards, though, is new to the show.Speaking of Cech, she was cast as fan-favorite character Toph in November 2024. For the uninitiated, she's an extremely powerful Earthbender, who'll accompany Aang and company on their quest to stop the Fire Nation's attempts to become this world's tyrannical rulers.We have our Toph!! Please welcome Miya Cech to Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/p7V7akclraSeptember 20, 2024There have been plenty more cast reveals since Cech was added to the show's roster, too. Last November, eight more actors were confirmed to appear, including Justin Chien as King Kuei, aka the Earth Kingdom's current ruler, and Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong – the latter being Toph's mom.A post shared by Avatar: The Last Airbender (@avatarnetflix)A photo posted by on Then, to celebrate the end of filming on season 2, Netflix unveiled another seven cast additions. The most notable name among this contingent is Dichen Lachman, who some viewers will recognize as Gemma Scout/Ms Casey from the hugely successful Apple TV+ series Severance. She'll be playing Yangchen in Avatar season 2.A post shared by Avatar: The Last Airbender (@avatarnetflix)A photo posted by on For Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), he appears to meet his demise in the season 1 finale following a battle with Zuko, who unleashes his fire powers upon him. Asked by RadioTimes.com about his potential return, Leung said, “In the original, we do know what happens to him – he ends up in the Fog of Lost Souls in the spirit world. As this is a re-imagining, I don’t know how that part of it will be re-imagined, if it will be, so I’m in the same boat as you!”Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 story speculationSuki and Sokka will continue to support Aang in battle (Image credit: Netflix)Major spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. Potential season 2 spoilers also follow.When it comes to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, there’s certainly a storyline and timeline for Netfli'sx adaptation to follow. One of the biggest issues that Netflix’s version faces, though, is that the original took place across the same 12-month period.By keeping the same cast in this remake, season 1 showrunner Albert Kim had to allow for the actors to grow up on screen. Given they'll have aged up since the first season was released, a narrative tweak was needed in the form of including a time jump, as Kim previously confirmed in a chat with Entertainment Weekly (EW).How does this impact the arrival of Sozin’s Comet, aka the celestial object that depicts the passage of time in the original show? Kim added: "We removed that particular ticking clock from our show for now because we couldn’t know exactly how old our actors would be for the subsequent seasons."Season 1's mid-credits scene revealed Sozin’s Comet would be part of the story moving forward, though, so it'll be interesting to see how its inclusion factors into the time jump that's been introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2.Aang will be older than the last time we saw them (Image credit: Netflix)Elsewhere, in conversation with Netflix's in-house Tudum, website, executive producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani revealed a bit more about what viewers can expect next time around."We’re going to challenge our characters with more complex and nuanced obstacles as they navigate a more tactile world," the pair teased. "Just as the animated series matured and progressed, the live- action will also take these characters and worlds, and grow them."The show's exploration of more mature themes won't be a surprise to anyone who watched Netflix's remake and/or the original.Where the former is concerned, Aang and the Waterbenders successfully repelled the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe at Agna Qel’a. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation simultaneously attacked the Earthbenders in the city of Omashu and were successful in defeating those defending their tribal stronghold.This sets the plot up nicely for the Earthbending focus of season 2, which matches the original series. More training, more harnessing of skills, and more battles for Aang and company are certainly on the cards, then."I thought it was really clever of the writers to end season 1 in that way, because you want to get a sense that the universe of the show is expanding with every season," Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Zuko and Azula’s ruthless father, Fire Lord Ozai, told Tudum. "And they really did a good job of that with that cliff-hanger and also created a sense of urgency and time."What's next for Zuko (center) and his allies? (Image credit: Netflix)There’s also the escalating tension between Zuko and Azula as they continue their complicated family dynamic. Azula took the city of Omashu and its King Bumi captive, while an injured Zuko fled from the battle in the North. Zuko is one of the most fascinating characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender and, while long-time fans know what lies in store for him in future seasons, it'll be no less intriguing to see him evolve as an individual.And what of Aang’s face-to-face with the aforementioned pair's father and ruler of the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai?"Always leave the audience wanting more," Lee teased. "I just had chills seeing Lizzy as Azula. You’ve got King Bumi in shackles, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, there’s so many cliff-hangers.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I want to shoot season 2 [and] 3 right now.'"Unfortunately for Kim, he hasn't done that, with Boylan and Rassani assuming the reins as co-showrunners. It'll be equally interesting, then, to see if Avatar: The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3 are better (or worse) than what's come before. Speaking of the show's third season...Has Avatar: The Last Airbender been renewed for a third season?That’s a wrap on Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2!The time of Sozin’s comet draws near. Season 3 is now in production! pic.twitter.com/Esx3ZOOGAqMay 20, 2025It has. As we mentioned earlier, Netflix renewed Avatar: The Last Airbender for two more seasons last March. As the above X/Twitter post reveals, season 3 has entered full production as of May 2025, too.With season 2 taking around six months to film, its sequel could take a similar amount of time. If that's the case, principal photography could wrap on the series' final installment before the end of 2025. That could allow Netflix to release seasons 2 and 3 within close proximity of one another, or ensure season 3 arrives no later than a year after Avatar season 2's launch. In short: Avatar: The Last Airbender could be done and dusted as a Netflix TV Original by the end of 2026.For more Netflix TV-based coverage, read our guides on One Piece season 2, Stranger Things season 5, Wednesday season 2, and Squid Game season 3.

Simple devices can be a blessing or a curse. Sometimes companies streamline entry-level products to offer the best core features at a lower price. Other times they pair down the experience so much that it becomes a hindrance. With the Smoque (pronounced "smoke"), Weber wants to give prospective pellet grillers access to reliable performance and basic smart features for less money than its more versatile Searwood series. In the end, the company offers enough capabilities to appeal to beginners and expert backyard pitmasters alike, although the Smoque isn’t as much of a value as it was a few months ago.

Basic, functional design

The Smoque may look like a smaller Searwood on the outside, but there are a few noteworthy differences. First, this model has a simplified controller that, like its predecessor, is only operated with a single knob. The smaller LCD panel is easily read from a distance, and it can show grill temperature, food probe temperature and timer info. The catch is the limited real estate can only display one of those stats at a time.

This isn’t a problem if you’ve got the Weber Connect app handy, but you’ll want to be mindful of which item you leave on the screen if you’re planning to glance at the progress from across the deck. The company is actually hoping the limited onboard controls will encourage grillers to use the app on their phone more during the process. This isn’t a far-fetched scenario since the Smoque is more for smoking and roasting than high-heat cooking, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

The other main difference between the Smoque and the Searwood is underneath the cooking grates inside. Weber replaced its trademark Flavorizer bars with a grease sheet that’s typical in most pellet grills. The Searwood has one large bar stretching from side to side, while Weber’s gas grills and the SmokeFire have several of them going front to back. The company opted for vents instead of a solid sheet of metal, and their covers are basically mini Flavorizer bars. This means you still get the effect of infusing flavor back into foods when grease and juices hit the hot metal and sizzle, albeit on a smaller scale. And those vents facilitate better airflow around the cook chamber, which means efficient smoke circulation.

Smart grilling features

Billy Steele for Engadget

Weber Connect, a trademark feature of Weber’s smart pellet grills, is available on the Smoque via Wi-Fi. Once your grill syncs with your home network, the mobile software can be used to monitor ambient and food temperatures from anywhere. This is handy if you run out of pellets before your brisket is done or when it’s time to hit the school carpool line. You can set timers, activate SmokeBoost mode, add a temperature alert and initiate the shutdown process from the app, too.

For beginners, or for cooks just looking for inspiration, the Weber Connect app also provides a wealth of recipes. Those come with step-by-step instructions, and the software offers readiness alerts so you don’t overcook those pricey cuts of meat. All of these software features have been a staple of Weber’s smart grilling lineup since the debut of the platform in 2020. The company has greatly refined them in the years since, and Weber Connect is now just as handy and reliable as Traeger’s WiFire tech, which I previously considered the gold standard.

Cooking with Smoque

Speaking of reliability, the Smoque is a barbeque workhorse in the backyard. Weber promises preheat times of under 15 minutes on the grill, and that holds true. In fact, most of the time the Smoque will arrive at the desired temperature well before that. Every time I use it, I’m shocked by how quickly it preheats, recovers from the lid being open and adjusts to a higher temperature. This is all thanks to the Rapid React tech in the controller, an upgrade that first appeared on the Searwood.

During cooking sessions, the Smoque held its temperature reliability, too. The Weber Connect app has graphs for the various temperatures, and the ambient grill temperature trajectory is almost always a straight line. Sure, you’ll see the dips any time you open the lid, but you’ll also see the sharp incline that indicates how quickly the grill returned to the set temperature.

Like the Searwood, the SmokeBoost feature that’s designed to add more smoky flavor to your food only works at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This is lower than you’d want to cook things like brisket or pork shoulders, so you have to plan additional cook time for the 1-2 hours at the lower setting. However, you don’t really need to use it all. The Smoque imparts plenty of wood-fired flavor from the pellets at the appropriate cooking temperatures. Ribs, pork butts, wings and chicken kabobs all had ample smokiness during my tests — even though the latter two items cooked at higher temperatures without using SmokeBoost first.

A useful feature you’ll need to decide if you can live without on the Smoque is manual mode. Weber introduced this on the Searwood and the tool allows you to cook with the lid open for things like direct-flame searing and flat-top griddling. It makes that pellet grill more versatile, undoubtedly, but we’re talking about a more affordable, more streamlined model with the Smoque. As a result, that’s not available here.

The competition

Both Weber and Trager have taken an interesting approach to their new smart grills in 2025. The companies have built options that are more affordable than previous devices, and the cheapest models from both of them start at $800. The Smoque was initially announced at $699, and Traeger now lists the Woodridge for $900 when it’s not on sale (it currently is). Given the current global economic predicament, it’s no surprise both companies have raised their prices since their January announcements.

Traeger’s Woodridge also excels at the basics and will help you churn out some deliciously smoked meats. However, the temperature fluctuates during cooking on that grill, so I give a slight edge to Weber in a head-to-head matchup for its rock-solid consistency. And given the fact that the Smoque is now $100 cheaper at full price, those savings could go towards additional accessories.

Wrap-up

With the Smoque, Weber proves that a basic grill doesn’t have to offer a subpar experience. This model offers reliable smoking and roasting performance with smart features in the company’s app for less than its more robust Searwood model. The Smoque is even available in two sizes, so there’s an option if you need more than the 594 square inches of cooking space on the unit I tested. Weber really hit its stride with pellet grills last year with the Searwood, and Smoque is proof the company has more compelling ideas in the hopper. Thankfully, this one saves you some money without sacrificing any of the culinary results.

Weber says the 22-inch Smoque is headed to retailers now and will be available on its website in early June for $799. The larger, 36-inch model is coming mid-summer for $999.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/weber-smoque-review-a-simplified-smart-grill-thats-still-a-workhorse-160023349.html?src=rss

After levying a €500 million fine against Apple in April, the European Commission (EC) says that Apple is still out of compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and has less than 30 days remaining to comply. The DMA requires that Apple allow developers to inform their customers about sales or other offers outside the App Store.

In the 68-page document released today from the EC's April decision, the commission found that Apple's policies were plainly anti-competitive and said the company added unnecessary hurdles — referred to as "anti-steering" rules — to completing external transactions.

One such anti-steering strategy the EC took umbrage with was Apple's "scare sheets." When users clicked to navigate to an external payment link, a message would appear, reading “you’re about to go to an external website. Apple is not responsible for the privacy or security of purchases made on the web.” Apple could face hefty periodic penalty payments as high as five percent of daily global revenue if the company doesn’t bring its policies into compliance within the EU.

In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple expressed its disappointment with the newly released details, saying “there is nothing in the 70-page decision released today that justifies the European Commission’s targeted actions against Apple, which threaten the privacy and security of our users in Europe and force us to give away our technology for free." Later in the statement, the company called the decision "bad for innovation, bad for competition, bad for our products, and bad for users."

Apple will appeal the decision before the June 22 deadline laid out in the EC's decision.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apples-app-store-rules-are-still-in-violation-of-eu-policy-161117662.html?src=rss

Going on a quest to gather orbs sounds like a magical journey. Images of old-school Sierra adventure games come to mind. Well, bad news. In this case, it's a virtual currency earned by being a captive audience for advertisers on Discord. Welcome to 2025, baby!

Currently in beta, Orbs are Discord's latest addition to its Quests. That's the company's system that lets advertisers launch interactive challenges. These can be things like watching promotional videos or playing games. You aren't watching an ad, silly. You're venturing out on a Video Quest!! Godspeed.

Discord

If you choose to be a Quest test subject, you can spend your Orbs in several ways. Discord Nitro credits could be a popular redemption option. You can also trade Orbs for profile cosmetics and first-party shop items. Unfortunately, you can't exchange them for real money. Nor can you spend them anywhere outside of Discord.

Before today, Quest advertisers were limited to offering their own rewards. However, they can still do that. The new virtual currency is merely another option.

Orbs are launching in a limited beta, so you may not have access yet. They're also desktop-only (app and browser), at least for now. You can find Quests by heading to Discover > Quests on Discord. Once you have access to Orbs, you can claim them in the Direct Messages > Shop section.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/discord-launches-a-virtual-currency-162136575.html?src=rss