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What's next for Xbox?(Image credit: Playground Games)Given that Xbox players received Avowed earlier this year, we're now looking ahead to the rest of 2025 to see what's in store. First will be the release of Doom: The Dark Ages arrives, followed by the next major Call of Duty game. Beyond that, there's rumors of an Xbox handheld device, and then a 2026 release window for Fable.

The Elder Scrolls 6's release date is still a mystery in 2025, given that we've not received a substantial update on the highly-anticipated fantasy RPG in over six years (it'll be seven in June). Given the pedigree of its predecessor, however, it's easy to see why The Elder Scrolls 6 is at the absolute top of many gamer's wishlists, even after all these years of relative silence.What we can tell you for certain is that The Elder Scrolls 6 is indeed in development, and that it will be the next release for Bethesda Game Studios, now that Starfield is well and truly in the rearview mirror. Even so, it's clear that the game is quite a ways out, especially following comments from Xbox head Phil Spencer last year. A shame, given it's easily one of the most highly anticipated upcoming games out there.Here's what we know about The Elder Scrolls 6 so far, including a look at platforms we can expect it to launch on. Hopefully, we will hear more about the game by the end of 2025. When details do emerge, this page will be updated.

The Elder Scrolls 6: cut to the chase

What is it? The long-awaited successor to SkyrimWhen does it come out? TBCWhat can I play it on? TBC - but evidence points to it being only on PC and Xbox Series X|S

The Elder Scrolls 6 platforms prediction

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Platforms for The Elder Scrolls 6 haven't been confirmed yet but, given Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media in 2021, releases on PC, and Xbox Series X|S are almost a certainty. A PS5 release was previously ruled out, according to documents revealed as part of the FTC vs Microsoft court case. Similarly, releases on Xbox One seems extremely unlikely, as Starfield shows Bethesda's moving on from last-gen hardware.One thing to consider here is that since we last heard about The Elder Scrolls 6's Xbox exclusivity, Microsoft has started taking a very different approach to its releases. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, for example, launched on PS5 a few months after its launch on Xbox. Similarly, we've now seen Sea of Thieves arrive on PS5, so it's possible that The Elder Scrolls 6 will follow a similar pattern. We'll have to wait and see.

Will The Elder Scrolls 6 release on Xbox Game Pass?

(Image credit: Bethesda)

The Elder Scrolls 6 will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one. This means that subscribers will be able to pick up the game at no extra cost the same day it releases for everyone else.

The Elder Scrolls 6 trailer

The only footage we have of The Elder Scrolls 6 is a very short clip of the game's logo. Other than that, you might be waiting a while to see more. Here's the announcement trailer:

Elder Scrolls 6 setting prediction

(Image credit: Bethesda)

We’re willing to bet that like all the other games in the series, The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place on the continent of Tamriel. Previous games have taken us to High Rock, Hammerfell, Morrowind, Cyrodil, and Skyrim. Valenwood, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh are the biggest places left to explore. However, even though these areas are prime spots for exploration, that's not to say that Bethesda won't return to areas from previous games.There were rumors that The Elder Scrolls 6 could be set in Valenwood, the home of the Bosmer. It’s an area of Tamriel that Bethesda hasn’t explored much and that's based on a reported internal Bethesda memo from all the way back in 2014. In this memo, Bethesda employees were reportedly warned against using the terms Fallout: Nuka World, Elder Scrolls VI or Project Greenheart.It's hard to tell from the short E3 clip we have of the game. However, since it was shown, general opinion has moved towards the idea that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be set in either Hammerfell or High Rock.Adding credence to the Hammerfell rumor is a post from the official Elder Scrolls Twitter account at the end of 2020. That says "transcribe the past and map the future" and shows an image with an unmapped Hammerfell region. There is, however, a chance that this teaser doesn't relate to Elder Scrolls 6 at all.Obviously, those of us who know the world of Tamriel thanks to Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim and yes, even Elder Scrolls Online, the entire world is a veritable expanse of different lands and settings where the game could be set. We do know one thing for certain; wherever it does end up being set, we can expect to be fulfilling a great many side quests.

The Elder Scrolls 6 news

(Image credit: Bethesda)

More Oblivion Remastered details, including a release date, have seemingly been outed by Xbox's own support accountXbox's official support account may have just shared more than it was supposed to on the alleged remaster for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.After a round of screenshots leaked online, the internet was once again abuzz with speculation as to if (or indeed when) we'll get to play the long-rumored Oblivion Remastered anytime soon.New release window rumorsAccording to a court document revealed from the FTC v. Microsoft case, The Elder Scrolls 6 is expected to be released sometime during or after 2026, and is seemingly planned to be released solely on PC and Xbox (via The Verge).The Elder Scrolls 6 is still in early developmentIn an interview with Spanish publication Vandal (as translated by Gamespot), Pete Hines revealed that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still likely a long way off."It's in development, but it's in early development."Fallout 5 is coming after The Elder Scrolls 6In an interview with IGN, Todd Howard confirmed that Fallout 5 will be Bethesda's next project after The Elder Scrolls 6."Yes, Elder Scrolls 6 is in pre-production and, you know, we’re going to be doing Fallout 5 after that, so our slate’s pretty full going forward for a while" Howard told the publication. "We have some other projects that we look at from time to time as well."Bethesda wants to take its time to get it rightThe Elder Scrolls 6 is probably still a few years away yet but that’s not because Bethesda is deliberately dragging its heels. In an interview with IGN, when discussing the gap between Skyrim and its follow up, Howard said “Would you plan to have the kind of gap we're having between Skyrim and the follow-up? I can't say that's a good thing. Do I wish I could wave a wand and the game we wanted to make [...] just came out? Absolutely.”According to Howard, however, the time felt right for Bethesda to try something new with Starfield and The Elder Scrolls Online meant that the Elder Scrolls franchise was in a relatively good place.“That being said,” he added, “everything takes longer than we would like as well, but we want to make sure that we get it right. Hopefully Elder Scrolls 6, you don’t want to say hey, that it’s worth that kind of wait, but that it does stand up to the series as it has been in a really big, impactful way for when it comes out.”

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While Fallout 5 has yet to be officially revealed, we do know that it is being worked on in some respect, and that it'll follow Bethesda's next RPG: The Elder Scrolls 6. Unfortunately, this means it is likely many years off from coming out.Ranking among the best RPGs of recent memory, Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 offered memorable, and deeply affecting stories. Reinforced by generous environmental storytelling, these games have been some of the most immersive sci-fi offerings to ever grace PCs and consoles. Now, they've even been adapted into a TV show, which has been a hit with critics and fans alike.Though information on a potential sequel is scarce, there are scattered morsels of information here and there which we've collated for your reading pleasure. Read on to learn everything we know about Fallout 5.

Fallout 5: cut to the chase

What is it? The next installment of the Fallout franchiseWhen can I play it? TBCWhich console will it be on? Possibly not PlayStation

Fallout 5 setting predictions - where could it be set?

(Image credit: Bethesda)

If you've ever played a Fallout game, you'll know the series revels in its nuclear-ravaged American setting. Fallout games have all been set in a US state, so it would stand to reason this aspect wouldn't change. Fallout 3, for example, was set in Washington while Fallout 4 took place in Boston.In fact, Todd Howard recently commented on Fallout's American setting in an interview with Kinda Funny. In it, he explains that the series' main themes are inherently tied to America:"My view is part of the Fallout schtick is on the Americana naivete. And so, you know, it's okay to acknowledge some of those other areas but our plan is to predominantly keep it in the US"For those looking for a different experience, however, modders have been hard at work crafting their own takes on other locations in the Fallout universe. You don't have to look far to see fans discussing and fantasizing about where Fallout 5 will take place.It is possible that a new Fallout game could be set in New Orleans given that a trademark application for 'Fallout New Orleans' was spotted online way back in 2016.We've already visited swampy areas in Fallout, but a game set entirely around the deep South would certainly be an interesting take, especially given New Orleans' distinctive urban environments.

Fallout 5 news

(Image credit: Bethesda)

More Oblivion Remastered details, including a release date, have seemingly been outed by Xbox's own support account Xbox's official support account may have just shared more than it was supposed to on the alleged remaster for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.After a round of screenshots leaked online, the internet was once again abuzz with speculation as to if (or indeed when) we'll get to play the long-rumored Oblivion Remastered anytime soon.Todd Howard isn't putting a date on Fallout 5 anytime soonIn an interview with IGN, Todd Howard revealed that he is avoiding putting even a rough date on Fallout 5. He confirmed that the team is currently working on Elder Scrolls 6, but added that this 'doesn't mean that we're not making plans for other things.'Fallout TV show is "almost like Fallout 5"Speaking to Total Film (via Gamesradar), Fallout TV director Jonathan Nolan described the series as "almost like Fallout 5".Fallout 5 is coming after The Elder Scrolls 6In an interview with IGN, Todd Howard confirmed that Fallout 5 will be Bethesda's next major project after The Elder Scrolls 6."Yes, Elder Scrolls 6 is in pre-production and, you know, we’re going to be doing Fallout 5 after that, so our slate’s pretty full going forward for a while" Howard told the publication. "We have some other projects that we look at from time to time as well."Work has begun...sort ofWork has started on Fallout 5 but don’t hold your breath for seeing it any time soon. Speaking to IGN in November 2021, regarding the impending release of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, Bethesda studio director Todd Howard revealed that a “one-pager” design document was already in place for Fallout 5, being a very early blueprint for what the studio has planned for the game.Being a “one-pager”, the design document is a high-level outline and there is, therefore, little to share. With Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 both up first, it’ll be a while before we hear more about Fallout 5.As for whether or not Obsidian—the studio which handled development duties on the Xbox 360-era Fallout: New Vegas—could have some involvement, Howard said "We've worked with other people from time to time. I can't say what's gonna happen...If I could wave my hand and have [Fallout 5] out...you know, I'd like to find a way to accelerate what we do, but I can't really say today or commit to anything... other than [the fact that] our cadence is Starfield then Elder Scrolls 6".

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HP has agreed to settle a lawsuit by forking out $4 millionIt relates to misleading pricing on PCs and peripherals ‘on sale’Eligible consumers will have purchased between 2021 and 2024

HP has agreed to pay a $4 million settlement over allegations of false advertising on its website relating to its sale of computers and peripherals.The settlement stems from a lawsuit originally filed in October 2021. Preliminary approval for the class-action settlement was granted by a US District Judge earlier this month.According to the lawsuit, HP allegedly showed misleading original prices on its website for some PCs, mice and keyboards, making it appear as though they were much cheaper than usual when on sale.

Misleading prices

Strike-through prices on sale items made products appear more discounted than they actually were, with some rare or never sold at the original price anyway.HP’s $4 million payment will go toward “Settlement Class members’ claims; court-approved Notice and Settlement Administration Costs; court-approved Settlement Class Representatives’ Service Award; and court-approved Settlement Class Counsel Attorneys’ Fees and Costs Award,” the judge’s approval confirms. “All residual funds will be distributed pro rata to Settlement Class members who submitted valid claims and cashed checks.”The lawsuit applies to customers who bought HP desktops, laptops, mice or keyboards advertised as being discounted for more than 75% of the time between June 5, 2021 and October 28, 2024.One of the examples given was a $999.99 HP All-in-One machine bought by a plaintiff in September 2021. It was advertised as having $100 off, marked at $899.99, however it had been sold at that lower price since April 2021.Among the three pages of eligible models shared by Ars Technica include HP Spectre, Chromebook, Envy, Pavilion and Omen models.Although HP has agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement, it hasn’t technically admitted to any wrongdoing. TechRadar Pro has asked HP for a reaction to the agreement, but we did not receive an immediate response.Via Ars Technica

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After announcing it last month, ILM has revealed more details of its mixed reality "playset" called Star Wars: Beyond Victory for Meta Quest headsets. At its Star Wars Celebration 2025 in San Francisco, ILM released a new video that shows some gameplay and gives a taste of the other mixed reality experiences.

The experience revolves around podracing. It includes three distinct modes, according to ILM's press release: Adventure, Arcade and Playset. The first uses virtual and mixed to reality to follow Volo, "an aspiring podracer whose life gets flipped upside down under the mentorship of the infamous Sebulba [from Star Wars Episode I]." Arcade offers podracing in mixed reality on a virtual holotable, and Playset lets players create "Star Wars moments in mixed reality with a collection of unlockable virtual action figures and vehicles."

We're calling this a Playset because it isn't just a game; it's an entirely new way to experience the Star Wars galaxy and the worlds we create at ILM. This new mixed reality experience blends the physical and digital worlds in a way that's unlike anything we've done before and we’re so excited to share a special first look with our incredible Star Wars community.

I was a bit underwhelmed by what I saw, though perhaps the video doesn't do it justice. That said, there is a dearth of decent mixed reality content and any Star Wars IP will likely be welcome. ILM has let to announce a release date and price for Star Wars: Beyond Victory — A Mixed Reality Playset but you can at least add it to your wishlist on the Meta Horizon store. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/ilm-has-made-a-star-wars-mixed-reality-experience-for-meta-quest-120033010.html?src=rss

Apple TV+ has a ton of popular originals like Ted Lasso, Severance, Slow Horses, For All Mankind, Foundation and Silo. If you've been meaning to check them out, you can do so for less right now. Apple TV+ is on sale right now for $3 per month for the first three months, bringing the total cost to just $9 for the entire period. That saves you a total of $21 off the standard $10 monthly cost of the subscription that we consider to be one of our favorite streaming services.

Apple's shows won 10 Emmy Awards in 2024, including a Slow Horses victory for outstanding writing in a drama series. Although its films weren't up for anything at this year's Oscars, it received 13 nominations in 2024, including Best Picture nods for Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon.

Three months of Apple TV+ for $9 is available through April 24. Both new and qualified returning subscribers (those who haven't been subscribed for the past 30 days) are eligible. You also must sign up via Apple directly and not through a third-party provider or your mobile wireless provider. If you don't want to pay full price after three months, just remember to cancel before the renewal date.

Check out our coverage of the best streaming deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-three-months-of-apple-tv-for-only-9-193009997.html?src=rss

Earlier this year, reports came out that Ryan Gosling was in talks for the lead role in Shawn Levy's Star Wars movie. Now, Gosling has confirmed that he will star in Levy's film, which the Deadpool & Wolverine director has been working on since 2022, at the Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo. Levy's movie will be called Star Wars: Starfighter, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027, a few weeks after Avengers: Secret Wars debuts in cinemas.

Starfighter, most likely named after the universe's small combat spacecraft, is a standalone movie set five years after the events in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and will not be connected to the Skywalker family. "It’s not a prequel, not sequel. It’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet," Levy said during the event. Neither Levy nor Gosling discussed the plot of the movie, and it's not even clear what character Gosling is playing. Production seems to be looking for a teenage actor and a male and female actor to play as villains alongside Gosling's character. The movie will start production this fall.

A year before Starfighter hits the theaters, however, The Mandalorian and Grogu is taking center stage. A spinoff based on The Mandalorian series, it will premiere on May 22, 2026, with Jon Favreau serving as its director. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/ryan-goslings-star-wars-movie-is-titled-starfighter-and-will-be-released-in-2027-123049184.html?src=rss

A VPN (virtual private network) can come in handy on a regular basis to keep you safe online, and you can save on one of our favorites right now. Our top pick for the best VPN, ProtonVPN, is on sale for just $86.16 for two years of access. That's a 64-percent discount, and it comes out to about $3.59 per month for the whole, two-year period.

This deal gives you access to ProtonVPN Plus, which lets you connect up to 10 devices simultaneously — that should cover your smartphone, tablet, laptop, smart TV and anything else you'd want to protect with VPN coverage. Proton also has more than 8,600 servers to choose from across 110 countries, so you shouldn't have any problem finding one that best suits your preferences.

ProtonVPN is our pick for the best VPN overall due to a blend of its security, usability and privacy. ProtonVPN has a no-logs policy. That means it doesn't keep any records of information that passes through its network. In other words, it doesn't track your internet activity while you're using it, helping to protect you and your anonymity.

Other features of ProtonVPN Plus include ad-, malware- and tracker-blocking, as well as fast performance. In our testing, ProtonVPN had a minimal impact on connection speeds in our geoblock, streaming and gaming tests. ProtonVPN is also open source, meaning that anyone with enough knowhow can take a look under the hood and validate Proton's technical claims.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/protonvpn-deal-get-64-percent-off-a-two-year-plan-152355358.html?src=rss

SonicWall updated a security advisory for a Secure Mobile Access flawCISA added the flaw to its KEVFCEB agencies have three weeks to apply the patch

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added an old SonicWall vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, confirming that it is being used in the wild.As a result, Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies have three weeks to install the patch or stop using the product entirely.In late 2021, SonicWall released a security advisory, warning its users about an improper neutralization vulnerability affecting multiple SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) appliances. At the time, the company said the bug could be used to take down vulnerable endpoints with a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. However, the company has now updated the advisory to warn about in-the-wild abuse and to upgrade its severity score from medium to high (7.2).

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Abuse in the wild

"Improper neutralization of special elements in the SMA100 management interface allows a remote authenticated attacker to inject arbitrary commands as a 'nobody' user, which could potentially lead to code execution," SonicWall said.The flaw affects SMA 200, SMA 210, SMA 400, SMA 410, and SMA 500v (ESX, KVM, AWS, Azure) devices.At the same time, CISA added the bug to KEV, warning about abuse in the wild. While its Binding Operational Directive 22-01 (which forces organizations to install the patch) only applies to government agencies, those in the private sector should take note when KEV gets a new entry."These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise," CISA said.In 2021, SonicWall suffered one of its largest attacks ever, when a threat actor tracked as UNC2447 abused an SQL injection vulnerability in the SMA100 instance to gain unauthorized access to networks. Following the breach, they deployed the Sombrat backdoor and a ransomware variant dubbed FiveHands.Via BleepingComputer

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With Star Wars Celebration 2025 officially underway in Japan and just 17 days until May the 4th – better known as Star Wars Day – you might be asking yourself, "Where are all the new products themed around the best characters and stories from a galaxy far, far away?"While TechRadar has already given you an exclusive first look at Audio-Technica Star Wars The Mandalorian, R2-D2, Grogu, and Darth Vader earbuds, and Lego has unveiled nine new sets all under the Star Wars theme, there is more.And if you were bummed about the exclusive products available at Star Wars Celebration only, here’s some good news – a number of those products from the likes of Star Wars, Hasbro, Lego, and Amazon Devices are now up for order on Amazon.com.

Dark Dot

Kicking things off is a new stand for your Echo Devices that is perfect if your allegiance is with the Sith, Dark Side, or even the First Order. That’s right, Amazon is now making a Star Wars Tie Fighter Stand for the Echo Dot fourth and fifth gen.The circular, orb-like Alexa-powered smart speaker will sit in the middle, occupying the cockpit and main hull of the acclaimed starship. Two panels stick out from the left and right sides, acting as the ship's wings to lift the Echo Dot off the ground.Even neater, though, is that the LED ring at the bottom of the Echo Dot, which normally glows blue when Alexa is listening, green when you have a notification, or red when the microphones are muted, will glow throughout the shell of the Tie Fighter.Among Echo stands, this Tie Fighter one punches above the rest. There is even cable management on the back, and it won’t obscure any functionality of the smart speaker. If you’re sold, the Star Wars Tie Fighter Stand for Amazon Echo Dot will be available later today.

This stand turns your Echo Dot into a Tie Fighter and is compatible with the fourth and fifth generation compact smart speakers.View Deal

(Image credit: Lego)

As a Lego fan, I’ll never say no to another new set, and after dropping nine sets, the leaders in brick-building have dropped yet another new set. And fans of Rogue One or Andor are in for a real treat.This is the brand-new Lego Star Wars K-2SO Security Droid, which will stand over 15 inches high once built. And as you might suspect from a figure, it’ll be poseable and comes with a placard that you’ll build detailing this droid's specs. You’ll also score a K-2SO standard-sized Minifigure.Lego is taking pre-orders now for the K-2SO Security Droid set for $89.99, and it will ship on August 1, 2025.

You can preorder the Star Wars K-2SO Security Droid set from Lego now for $89.99 and it will begin shipping on August 1, 2025.View Deal

Beyond the Tie Fighter Echo Dot Stand and this K-2SO Security Droid Lego, a few other products are going up for order in a bit on Amazon – many go live at 12PM ET today – and we’re listing our favorites below. Considering many of these were thought to be exclusive to Celebration in Japan, it’s a nice surprise.

Fans of Star Wars: A New Hope take notice, this is the new Han Solo The Black Series action figure from Hasbro, and will be up for order for $24.99 from Amazon. It’s modeled after the character as seen in the film and includes a blaster belt. View Deal

Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Vintage Collection offers up some of the coolest, most screen-accurate figures and sets. Now, as first shown off at Celebration and up for order at Hasbro Pulse, is the Bantha & Tusken Raider 2-Pack. It’s as if it was pulled right from Star Wars: A New Hope and even features retro packaging. It’s up for order now at $69.99 and will ship in summer 2025.View Deal

All eyes are on Hulu this month as the streaming service is back with another packed schedule for May 2025 adding another plethora of titles to its collection of best Hulu movies and best Hulu shows.As we all know, the big day for Star Wars fans is approaching and Hulu is contributing to the celebration by bringing the original trilogy to the platform just in time for May 4. But as well as these classic titles Hulu is expanding its library of recent releases, most notably Gia Coppola's drama The Last Showgirl (2024) starring Pamela Anderson.Movies aside, reality TV is another one of Hulu's specialties which speaks for itself this month as you can expect two staple shows, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and Vanderpump Villa, returning for second seasons–- Hulu knows exactly what it's doing.

Everything new on Hulu in May 2025

Arriving on May 1Alone Australia season 1 (TV show)The Chicano Squad season 1 (TV show)History’s Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman season 2 (TV show)Inmate to Roommate season 2 (TV show)James Brown: Say it Loud season 1 (TV show)Jeopardy! Masters season 3 (TV show)Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story (movie)Naruto Shippuden season 9 (TV show)Pawn Stars season 22 (TV show)Alienoid (movie)Alienoid 2 (movie)Anaconda (movie)Anaconda En Espanol (movie)Attack The Block (movie)Attack the Block En Espanol (movie)Austenland (movie)Austenland En Espanol (movie)Babylon A.D. (movie)Bad Teacher (movie)Bad Teacher En Espanol (movie)Basic (movie)Basic En Espanol (movie)Battle of the Year (movie)Battle Of The Year En Espanol (movie)The Childe (movie)Con Air (movie)Courage Under Fire (movie)Deliver Us From Evil (movie)Enemy Of The State (movie)Far From the Madding Crowd (movie)The 5th Wave (movie)The 5th Wave En Espanol (movie)The Guardian (movie)Georgia Rule (movie)The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (movie)Hacksaw Ridge (movie)Horrible Bosses (movie)Horrible Bosses 2 (movie)The Infiltrator (movie)The Insider (movie)Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (movie)Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa En Espanol (movie)Joy (movie)The King’s Man (movie)Kingsman: The Golden Circle (movie)Kingsman: The Secret Service (movie)Kung Fu Panda (movie)Kung Fu Panda 2 (movie)Little Fockers (movie)The Negotiator (movie)The Power Of One (movie)Maid in Manhattan (movie)Maid in Manhattan En Espanol (movie)Man on Fire (movie)The Marine (movie)Meet the Fockers (movie)Meet the Parents (movie)Meet the Spartans (movie)Mission: Impossible (movie)Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (movie)Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol En Espanol (movie)Mission: Impossible II (movie)Mission: Impossible II En Espanol (movie)Mission: Impossible III (movie)Mission: Impossible III En Espanol (movie)Once (movie)Once Upon a Time in America (movie)Prospect (movie)Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (movie)The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (movie)Sex Tape (movie)Sex Tape En Espanol (movie)Shadow (movie)Spy (movie)Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (movie)Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (movie)Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (movie)Street Kings (movie)Stuber (movie)Super Troopers 2 (movie)Take Me Home Tonight (movie)Tears of the Sun (movie)That’s My Boy (movie)The Villainess (movie)The Wailing (movie)The Witch: Subversion (movie)The Witch 2: The Other One (movie)Tropic Thunder (movie)Waitress (movie)Wedding Crashers (movie)Arriving on May 2Pita Hall (movie)Decision to Leave (movie)Harbin (movie)The Last Word (movie)72 Hours (movie)Arriving on May 3Evil Lives Here season 13 (TV show)Naked and Afraid season 10 (TV show)Naked and Afraid XL season 3 (TV show)Unsellable Houses season 2 (TV show)Escape (movie)Jimmy O. Yang: Guess How Much (comedy special)Arriving on May 4Insidious: The Red Door (movie)Insidious: The Red Door En Espanol (movie)Arriving on May 7Kun by Agüero (TV show)Arriving on May 8Vanderpump Villa season 2 (TV show)Alone Australia season 2 (TV show)Find My Country House: Australia season 1 (TV show)New House No Debt season 1 (TV show)60 Days In season 9 (TV show)Pil’s Adventures (movie)Arriving on May 9The UnXplained season 7 (TV show)Summer of 69 (movie)Behind Enemy Lines (movie)Commando (movie)The Damned (movie)Hitman (movie)Hitman: Agent 47 (movie)Men Of Honor (movie)The Thin Red Line (movie)The Transporter (movie)Transporter 2 (movie)Arriving on May 10Expedition Unknown season 6 (TV show)How It’s Made season 21 (TV show)My 600-lb Life season 2 (TV show)My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now? season 1 (TV show)Robert Durst: An ID Murder Mystery season 1 (TV show)Scorned: Love Kills season 2 (TV show)Blonde and Blonder (movie)Strangerland (movie)Trust (movie)Vengeance: A Love Story (movie)War Inc. (movie)Arriving on May 12I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss season 1 (TV show)My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! season 1 (TV show)Hells Paradise season 1 (TV show)SHANGRILA FRONTIER season 1 (TV show)Arriving on May 13Not Others season 1 (TV show)Good Bad Things (movie)Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (movie)Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation En Espanol (movie)Arriving on May 15The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 (TV show)Beach Hunters season 7 (TV show)Cake Boss season 15 (TV show)Container Homes season 1 (TV show)Curb Appeal season 25 (TV show)Cutthroat Kitchen season 4-5 (TV show)Dr. Pimple Popper season 5 (TV show)Extreme Homes season 5 (TV show)Flea Market Flip seasons 10-14 (TV show)Island Life seasons 19-20 (TV show)My 600-lb Life season 3 (TV show)My Strange Addiction season 5-6 (TV show)Naked and Afraid season 9 (TV show)Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta season 7 (TV show)Tanked seasons 13-15 (TV show)The Last Alaskans season 4 (TV show)Undercover Billionaire season 2 (TV show)Unusual Suspects season 7 (TV show)Worst Cooks in America season 24 (TV show)Arriving on May 16Matteo Lane: The Al Dente Special (comedy special)Welcome to Wrexham season 4 (TV show)Crossroads (movie)The Last Breath (movie)Arriving on May 17Death by Fame season 1 (TV show)Destinations of the Damned With Zak Bagans season 1 (TV show)Expedition X season 6-7 (TV show)Spring Baking Championship season 1-3 (TV show)Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape (comedy special)Jim Gaffigan: Quality Time (comedy special)Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal (comedy special)Zarna Garg: One in a Billion (comedy special)Arriving on May 20American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story (movie)Night Call (movie)Arriving on May 21Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 (TV show)Nine Puzzles (TV show)Arriving on May 22Ancient Aliens season 20 (TV show)Intervention season 25 (TV show)Jump! season 1 (TV show)Outrageous Love with Nene Leakes season 1 (TV show)Taken in Plain Sight (movie)Arriving on May 23The Last Showgirl (movie)Arriving on May 24BBQ Brawl: Flay V. Anderson V. Burrell season 4 (TV show)Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern season 3 (TV show)Fixer Upper: Welcome Home season 1 (TV show)Gold Rush season 1 (TV show)Homestead Rescue season 12 (TV show)Arriving on May 25How to Please a Woman (movie)Arriving on May 27Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy season 1 (TV show)Re: Zero season 1 (TV show)Tower of God season 1 (TV show)The Seed of the Sacred Fig (movie)Arriving on May 29Adults season 1 (TV show)The Silencing (movie)Arriving on May 30Into the Deep (movie)Rickey Smiley: Untitled (movie)

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The high-end iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max + Autowash Dock hybrid robot vacuum/mop is on sale for $741 right now via Woot. Just enter the discount code "ENGADGET47" at checkout. This is a discount of 47 percent, which is more than $650 off the regular price of $1,400.

The Roomba Combo 10 Max is the company’s most premium model and filled to the brim with high-tech advancements. This is a hybrid unit, so it vacuums and mops. However, the model goes even further and can actually wash and dry the mopping pad. This is something that had to be done manually with previous hybrid vacuums.

It also automatically refills the mopping solution tank and can dump dirt from the dock into an enclosed bag for easy disposal. There’s an affiliated app that lets folks know when it’s time for a manual maintenance task. The mopping tank holds enough water for seven continuous days of use.

The vacuum portion boosts suction power when on top of a carpet, which is nice, and it automatically retracts the mopping system to avoid accidental spillage. It can vacuum and mop simultaneously on hard floors.

This is a near-perfect robovac with all kinds of bells and whistles, but there’s one major drawback. As previously mentioned, the regular price of this thing is a whopping $1,400. That’s nearly the equivalent of a new MacBook Pro. Thank goodness for today’s deal, which makes things much more palatable.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/irobots-roomba-combo-10-max-robot-vacuum-and-mop-is-47-percent-off-right-now-130051409.html?src=rss

US sales staff are the latest IBM workers to be given an RTO mandateThey must work three days per week from IBM’s offices or sales hubsSome Dallas-based workers will be relocated to Austin in 2026

IBM has reportedly enacted a mass return-to-office policy, mandating US sales staff to work at least three days a week at a client site, flagship office or sales hub.The news comes just days after the company told its US Cloud employees to return to “strategic” locations (company offices) on similar three-day-per-week terms.In the case of IBM’s US Cloud workers, they’ve been given until July 1 to adhere to the new policy. Workers needing to relocate have been cut a little more slack, with until October 1 to find a new home. It’s unclear when the company’s sales staff will need to move by.

IBM workers given renewed RTO mandate

On the face of it, IBM’s return-to-office policy is on the nicer side for those in favor of remote and hybrid working.Three days has long been the average in a post-pandemic world, however many of IBM’s fellow tech giants, including Amazon, have enacted full-time five-day policies, marking an end to remote working altogether.Across the US, IBM has five flagship offices in New York, Raleigh, Washington DC and San Francisco. The fifth, in Austin, will be open by next year.A further eight sales hubs in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle are also available for in-person work.According to an internal memo by Adam Lawrence seen by The Register, Dallas-based Digital Sales workers will be relocated to the new Austin office when it opens in 2026.Lawrence billed the RTO move as a “return to client initiative,” suggesting that sales staff need to be closer to clients to secure sales.Casually referred to as an initialism for ‘I’ve Been Moved’, IBM has a long history of relocating workers, however positions have been relatively stable at the company in the grand scheme of things.Apart from around 1,000 layoffs in August 2024 relating to the closure of a China R&D department, IBM’s only other big job cut was in January 2023, when 3,900 lost their jobs. Only a handful of much smaller reductions have followed since then.Via The Register

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We finally know when gamers in the US and Canada will be able to pre-order the Switch 2. Nintendo announced that Switch 2 pre-orders will open on April 24 in both regions. The original Switch 2 price will remain the same, $450, as will the original $500 price for the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle.

However, Nintendo announced that some Switch 2 accessories will receive "price adjustments" due to "market conditions." "Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions," the company said in the press release.

Nintendo apologized for the pre-order delay in its statement, and reiterated that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be widely available starting June 5.

How to pre-order the Switch 2

In addition to direct from Nintendo, you'll be able to snag a Switch 2 from participating retailers when the console becomes available. We expect those to include Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart and others.

But there's some fine-print attached to pre-ordering directly from Nintendo. According to the pre-order page on Nintendo's site, you must be 18 years or older, sign in with your Nintendo account and register your interest in pre-ordering. Then, you'll be sent an invitation email when it's time to play your pre-order, and the invitation will be valid for 72 hours. And then there's this bit of info: "Invitation emails will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025."

That seems to mean those who have paid for Switch Online in the recent past and those who have spent a good amount of time playing Switch games as of late will get first pick at buying a Switch 2. There's no telling if these same restrictions will apply if you want to pre-order from third-party retailers.

Pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 from:

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Tariffs and the Nintendo Switch 2

During its most recent Direct presentation at the start of April, Nintendo showed off more of the Switch 2 than it ever had before. That included the reveal of the April 9 pre-order opening date, in addition to the original $450 starting price. Shortly after, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on China and other countries, prompting Nintendo to delay pre-orders in the US and Canada.

In a reversal, President Trump then announced a 90-day pause on steep “reciprocal” tariffs affecting 75 countries, but also announced that the tariff imposed on China will go up even further (currently, it's up to 245 percent for that country).

We now know that the original $450 price for the Switch 2 will remain the same in the US and Canada, but based on its official statement, it appears Nintendo is leaving the door open for potential future price increases.

We also know that Nintendo started moving some of its Switch console manufacturing to Vietnam in 2019. The reciprocal tariff for Vietnam was set to be 46 percent, but that appears to be on hold for now in favor of a 10 percent reciprocal tariff that’s now in effect for the 90-day pause period. It has been speculated that Nintendo will ramp up production of Switch 2 consoles in Vietnam so it can stay on schedule, even if it sells the console at a loss in the short term.

More Switch 2 details

We knew from the teaser trailer for the Switch 2 that Nintendo's new hardware would be bigger and would have a new approach to the detachable Joy-Cons. The new Joy-Con 2 have a new C button, mouse controls and a built in gyroscope for tilt control. The console has a built-in mic to support a new feature called Game Chat that will let you communicate with friends in-game. The device is indeed a bit larger, with a 7.9-inch LCD screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR and a 1080p resolution.

When docked, you'll be able to play at up to 4K on your TV, and Nintendo says it improved the consoles internal speakers as well. The new dock also has a built-in fan to keep the console cool and help maintain performance during long play sessions. The Switch 2 has dual USB-C ports for charging, and the base storage amount has increased to 256GB. The Switch 2's storage can be expanded like the previous model, but it will only work with newer microSD Express cards.

The Switch 2 has a number of accessories that you'll be able to purchase separately as well. Those are the accessories that Nintendo stated will receive price adjustments — otherwise known as price increases. The new Switch 2 camera will now cost $55, instead of the original $50 price tag; the new Switch 2 Pro controller will be $85 instead of $80; an extra pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers will set you back $95 instead of $90 and a Joy-Con charging grip will go for $40 instead of $35. Check out Nintendo's official statement for all of the accessory price adjustments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-pre-orders-open-april-24-in-the-us-starting-at-450-plus-everything-else-you-need-to-know-140931113.html?src=rss

I just read the news that Microsoft is bringing back the hated Recall feature to Windows 11. If you’re not familiar with Recall, it takes screenshots every three seconds that you can search with AI, so you always have a way of recalling everything that’s happened on your PC.For rather obvious reasons, Recall is a complete security nightmare and has largely been decried by the security industry.Recall is the perfect example of an AI feature that nobody asked for and nobody really wants, but that we’re going to get anyway.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President Pavan Davuluri speaks about Recall (Image credit: Getty Images)

Garmin backlash

At least we’re not being asked to pay for Recall as well, which would add insult to injury as many Garmin watch owners found out recently when a new Garmin Connect+ subscription option full of AI-powered insights into your running performance was released to Garmin owners, much to their chagrin.In one fell swoop Garmin turned a product that you could just buy and own with a one-off purchase into an ongoing subscription service. Rather predictably people were not happy.TechRadar’s Fitness Editor, Matt Evans summed up the problem succinctly when he wrote, “While Garmin has been very careful in its messaging, insisting that everything currently free will remain free, users believe they will eventually have to either leave the platform or resort to paying for a usable version of it.”AI just seems to be in everything these days, whether we like it or not. You can find AI in new Samsung fridges, health and fitness apps, social media apps, your mobile phone, Alexa speakers, image editors, and Google search, not to mention AI chatbots themselves, like ChatGPT, which will soon start taking over from traditional search engines and computer interfaces.

The Garmin vivioactive 6. (Image credit: Garmin)

OK, computer

But did anyone ask for this? When Google AI Overviews started showing up in my Google search results I knew a line had been crossed. Google describes AI Overviews as “one of our most popular Search features — now used by more than a billion people”, but to me, and a lot of people I know, they just seem a bit annoying and hard to turn off.Personally, I don’t want an AI Overview getting in the way when I do a web search. Often I’m simply trying to find a particular website I’ve seen before and now I have to scroll down even further to get to the actual search results.Google has already created an AI Mode in beta that it’s currently testing. Rather than offering an AI Overview the new mode is an actual AI search, so you can ask follow-up questions and have a human-like conversation, if you want.There’s no doubt that AI Mode will be impressive, but I miss the old Google which didn’t have so many options and just did what it was designed to do – a simple and quick web search. That was, after all, why Google became popular.To help stem the tide of unwanted AI features I’ve been inundated with I’ve also turned off AI Notifications summaries on my iPhone – they’re not only wrong sometimes, but it’s just easier to read the actual messages people send you, not a summary of it that saves about four words of text.Other Apple Intelligence features like Genmoji and Image Playground sit unused on my iPhone after the initial buzz has worn off.

Genmoji was fun for a while, but I felt the magic wore off quickly. (Image credit: Future / Apple)

Smarter, better

I think AI can be a great tool to make you more productive and to help you drum up ideas, but why is there an assumption from the big tech companies that we want it in absolutely everything?Even writing this document in Google Docs I’ve got Gemini popping up asking me if it wants me to help write the document. No thank you Gemini, or should I call you the new Clippy?In fact, Clippy, Microsoft’s staggeringly unhelpful assistant included with Windows 97, was a perfect example of a technology designed to make your life easier that ended up making it more difficult. It constantly popped up whenever you tried to do anything and just got in the way. Microsoft should have learned from that experience.AI can be fun and useful, but only when you choose to use it. The recent image trends for generating a box set action figure of yourself, or showing you what your pet would look like if it were a human are a great way to have some fun with AI, but does that mean it should be in everything I use?Of course not. AI is exciting, offers almost infinite possibilities, and has the potential to change our lives for the better, but please don't force it on us when we didn't ask for it.Which brings us back to Recall. Let's just hope that it means we won't forget the lessons of the past next time and there's an easy way to turn it off.

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Happy Easter weekend, everyone! If, like me, you're enjoying more than usual two days off work, I'm sure you'll be finding some time to stream a bunch of new movies and TV shows on some of the world's best streaming services.Well, allow me to crack open an Easter egg filled with such goodies for you. Below, you'll find seven of the most exciting new films and series to check out before you head back to work. And, with even more downtime than normal (for those of us in the UK, anyway), you'll be able to watch more than one of these terrific offerings. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Companion (Max)

Max subscribers continue to get new movies thanks to A24. Now, one of the best Max movies. of 2025 has landed on the service in Companion.In it, Sophie Thatcher stars as a subservient android who was built for human companionship, but has started to go haywire. Honestly, people in these movies just never learn, do they? The Boys' Jack Quaid co-stars as the robot's human love interest/manipulator.While I criticized the Companion trailer for giving too much away, the movie is another win for A24; its glowing 94% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating serving as proof of that. If you want a chaotic blend of romance, sci-fi, and horror, you won't find a better film to stream this weekend. – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

Watch Companion on Max

Ransom Canyon (Netflix)

Dust off you cowboy boots and hats because Netflix is bringing some Texas charm to the small screen this weekend.Ransom Canyon is a new western saga that delves into the lives of three ranching families across 10 episodes, and it looks like an exciting mix of Yellowstone and Virgin River. Like the latter it's based on a romance novel series, so we can expect plenty of will-they-won't-they tension. That also means there's plenty "more story to tell" for a second season, which the show's stars are hoping for.Considering the Taylor Sheridan-led revival of the western genre has been a hit elsewhere, I don't doubt this will become one of the best Netflix shows soon enough. For more Lone Star action, check out these three highly-rated western shows. – Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

Watch Ransom Canyon on Netflix

Government Cheese (Apple TV+)

With Severance season 2 a fading image in the rear-view mirror, the search for the next big Apple TV Original is on. Prime Target, The Studio, Dope Thief, and Your Friends & Neighbors have all thrown their hat into the ring recently, but now it's Government Cheese's turn to convince you to stay signed up to Apple TV+.The late 1960s-set surrealist comedy-drama stars David Oyelowo as Hampton Chambers, a recently-freed convict who returns home to his family and tries to turn over a new leaf. Perhaps unsurprisingly, complications arise that lead to all sorts of trouble for Hampton to deal with.Will Government Cheese earn a seat at the best Apple TV+ shows table? That remains to be seen but, based on its official trailer (see above), it looks like a pretty unique offering from the tech giant's entertainment division. – TP

Watch Government Cheese on Apple TV+

The Stolen Girl (Hulu/Disney+)

The Stolen Girl dramatizes every mother's worst nightmare. After a woman realises her daughter has been kidnapped from a play date, a European-wide hunt occurs to uncover the truth about what happened.Thankfully, unlike another recent Hulu and Disney+ show Good American Family, this series is fictional but it's definitely a scary watch. If you're in the mood for a heart-pounding crime thriller, I highly recommend this one as it's got plenty of twists and turns and shocking moments.With a great cast including Ambika Mod who you may know from Netflix's One Day, alongside Holliday Granger as a terrified mom, it's done enough to win the approval of critics as it currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, making it worthy of a spot on our best Hulu shows and best Disney+ shows lists. – LB

Watch The Stolen Girl on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

Wolf Man (Peacock)

Leigh Whannell's latest horror movie Wolf Man is now available to watch on Peacock – and it might reassure you to know that there won't be a full moon over the weekend. So while you watch Julia Garner's character being terrorized by her rapidly transforming husband, played by Christopher Abbott, you're safe and sound.Critics were on the fence about this one, but I was more favorable in my Wolf Man review. Check out my interview with Christopher Abbott, too, if you want to know more about how he created his character.Wolf Man might not reach the highs of The Invisible Man, but it's still an interesting take on one of the classic Universal Studios monster movies. If Whannell chooses to adapt another one, I'll be first in line. – LB

Watch Wolf Man on Peacock

#1 Happy Family USA (Prime Video)

Ready to step into the childhood nightmares of actor-comedian Ramy Youssef? Known for the critically-acclaimed Hulu sitcom Ramy and equally great spinoff show Mo on Netflix, he's now teamed up with Pam Brady to co-create the adult animated series #1 Happy Family USA for Prime Video.Made by Amazon MGM Studios, A24 and, Cairo Cowboy, this provocative satire follows a Muslim family as they navigate one of the most terrible events in America's history. Expect lots of South Park-esque humor about post-9/11 paranoia and plenty of 2000s nostalgia.Season 1 is available to stream in full and, while it only has five reviews from critics at the time of writing, its flawless 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating makes it worthy of a spot on our best Prime Video shows guide. – AS

Watch #1 Happy Family USA on Prime Video

The Rehearsal season 2 (Max)

If you weren't sure of what to watch this Easter weekend, Nathan Fielder is here to help. The multitalented artist is known for helping people prepare for life's biggest moments in the docu-comedy series The Rehearsal, so you can trust that you're in good hands.The first season followed Fielder's project to create simulations that allow people to rehearse their own lives, but the next installment is set to see Fielder face "an issue that affects us all".The first episode of The Rehearsal season 2 will air on HBO before being made available on Max at 10.30pm ET in the US / 12.30pm AEST in Australia. Those in the UK will be able to find it on Sky and Now TV. – AS

Watch The Rehearsal season 2 on Max(US and Australia) and Sky/Now TV(UK)

For more streaming suggestions, check out guides on the best Netflix movies, best Disney+ movies, best Paramount+ movies, and best Hulu movies.

The Tesla Cybertruck is not selling in the numbers that CEO Elon Musk predicted, and with inventory piling up, the company is implementing numerous tactics to get the divisive electric pick-up truck in the hands of customers.According to various reports, Tesla is offering up to $11,900 off the asking price of many Cybertruck models in the USA, while potential Canadian buyers are also being enticed with up to CAD $16,590 off.Beyond the discount, many of these deals also include additional sweeteners, including free lifetime charging via the marque’s Supercharger network and lifetime access to (Supervised) Full Self-Driving technology, which typically requires a monthly subscription fee.When the Cybertruck was launched in 2023, Elon Musk emphatically announced that the vehicle would sell in excess of 250,000 units a year, but that figure is looking more like 25,000 units.Forbes famously called the model “the auto industry’s biggest flop in decades”, citing similar sales failures, such as the Ford Edsel and butt-ugly Pontiac Aztek made famous by Breaking Bad, as faring better than the steel-paneled Cybertruck.Despite launching a new, more affordable Cybertruck model last week, Tesla is now slowing down production of the model at its Gigafactory in Texas to prevent stockpiling further, according to a report by Business Insider.

Cybertruck suffers the DeLorean curse

(Image credit: Tesla)

Just like the gull-winged DMC sports car from Back to the Future, Cybertruck had its moment in the spotlight and is now facing a massive downturn in demand.Despite being separated by almost 50 years, the DeLorean and Cybertruck stories are eerily similar, with outlandish styling initially grabbing the public’s attention, but reports of poor build quality and the ensuing public controversy surrounding the owner effectively killed both projects.The bottom line is that Cybertruck has come to represent everything that a large swath of the American public is currently railing against. As a result, it has been the focal point of aggression, vandalism, and ridicule.We have reported on a general cooling of demand for most Tesla products, with close competitors keen to swoop in and make conquest sales.But this is a particularly thorny issue for Cybertruck, and it feels like no matter how much Musk chooses to incentivize it, the divisive pick-up's days might be numbered.

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This week, we're diving into Engadget's coverage from the 2025 New York Auto Show. There are tons of EVs, as we expected, as well as some surprising disappointments (what the heck did Subaru do to the Outback?!). Also, we once again try to make sense of the Trump administration's tariff mess. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for a chat with Isaiah Saxon, the director of A24’s The Legend of Ochi, about his puppet-filled kid’s adventure.

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What’s hot in EVs from New York Auto Show 2025 – 1:56

Federal Judge rules that Google has a monopoly on U.S. digital ads – 17:42

Facebook antitrust trial begins after several attempts to scuttle the case – 22:18

Tariff Watch: tariffs on semiconductors and electronics to be announced later – 31:16

PS5 prices are rising around the world – 34:22

NPR: Whistleblower shows evidence DOGE took sensitive data from federal labor board – 42:35

Sidewalk alerts in Seattle and Palo Alto hacked to play AI-generated messages – 47:18

New details for Mario Kart World – 48:43

Around Engadget / Working On – 51:42

Picks – 54:31

Interview with Legend of Ochi director Isaiah Saxon – 59:59

Credits

Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Nathan IngrahamProducer: Ben EllmanMusic: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/engadget-podcast-ny-auto-show-2025-and-a-chat-with-the-director-of-the-legend-of-ochi-140014709.html?src=rss

When is the next Assassin's Creed coming out?(Image credit: Ubisoft)We'd expect the next Assassin's Creed game to be Assassin's Creed Jade, though development on that has gone quiet since late last year. Beyond that, there's Assassin's Creed Hexe, which we've only seen a brief teaser for. Hopefully, there will be some Assassin's Creed Shadows DLC post-launch, which we think is likely based on how the last couple of games have been handled. Recently, there's been an update to Shadows, which improves the game's performance on PS5 Pro, changing our recommendations on the best graphics settings to use for Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe is probably the most mysterious and intriguing of all the Assassin's Creed projects that Ubisoft has in the works right now. We've only had the smallest of glimpses into it, so it's certainly a project that we still have heaps of questions about.As one of the many upcoming games from Ubisoft, there’s a huge amount of speculation regarding the release of Hexe, and we’ve pulled together what we can to help inform us all of what it could look like.We reckon that Assassin’s Creed Hexe could bring with it an experience never seen before in the Assassin’s Creed series, and with a lot of players already speculating themes and settings - it's looking likely that it'll cover witchcraft in some way. We'll have to wait and see whether it'll rank highly on our best Assassin’s Creed games list or not. For now, here’s everything we know so far.

Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe - cut to the chase

What is it? An upcoming addition to the Assassin’s Creed game seriesWhen can I play it? TBCWhat can I play it on? TBCWho makes it? Ubisoft (specifically Ubisoft Montreal)

Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe trailers

We've received just one trailer for Codename Hexe, and it’s pretty short. The thirty-second reveal trailer introduces us to a shadowy, spooky woodland before the camera pans through tree branches and lands on what looks like a talisman over a fire that takes the classic form of the Assassin’s Creed logo. Although the trailer doesn’t offer us a release date or any information about the platforms the game will be available on, there’s still a little more to dissect.At first, the logo made out of sticks and twine doesn’t look too out of the ordinary, but the end card places the same structure on an inverted pentacle, which is traditionally used in relation to the occult. An alphabet surrounds the symbol, and letters within the pentacle also offer clues about the game which might be missed unless you can figure out the translation.Fortunately, you don’t have to do said translation yourself, as many eager-eyed players have already started dissecting any clues embedded within the trailer. As explained by community stalwarts Access the Animus in a detailed YouTube video, the exterior of the symbol translates from the alphabet of the Magi directly to German, and states “Wir arbaiten im dem twnckel um dem licht zu dienen” which when translated to English, says “we work in the night to serve the light”. As said by Ezio in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, that has since become a 'catchphrase' of the series.But this isn’t the only information to dissect. In the center of the symbol, the same alphabet can be used to broadly translate the interior sections. In the exterior ring, the word “Mephisto” is spelled out, which is a demon from German folklore, followed by “Rache” meaning 'avenge', and “Hwsa” meaning 'house' or 'family'. When put together, the phrase “Mephisto avenge the house/family” is what we are left with, heavily leaning toward Hexe being themed around Germanic mythology and the occult.

Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe story and setting prediction

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Following on from the information that can be drawn from the reveal trailer, we can start to piece together some information about the story, theme, and setting of Hexe. The first major clue is within the codename title, Hexe, (Hek-sa) which simply translates to 'Witch' in German. This alone has been enough to lead a lot of players to believe that the setting of the game will be Germany between the early-1620s and the mid-1630s, and paired with the translation from the end of the reveal trailer, there are more than enough clues to suggest the setting will be Germany.Due to its speculated setting and the dark imagery of the trailer, alongside the use of the Alphabet of the Magi, we expect the story of the game to revolve heavily around the Witch Trials held by the Holy Roman Empire within this time period. The setting, trials, and a healthy dose of the occult and mystery - and magic? - could create a fairly dark experience in comparison to other Assassin’s Creed games.Marc-Alexis Cote has stated that Hexe will be “a very different type of Assassin’s Creed game.” But what this means is incredibly open for interpretation right now - though we do know it'll be the next 'flagship' in the series now that Assassin's Creed Shadows is out, and that it's being developed by the team behind Valhalla. A lot of fans expect the heavily implied occult aspects to provide a fresh horror take on the franchise, and depending on how this is implemented, there’s a chance Hexe and its new direction could fall among even the best horror games, if it nails the landing that is.

Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe will not be an RPG

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Even though we can dissect the reveal trailer to find clues about the story and setting of the game, how exactly it plays out still remains largely a big mystery. Although we expect the standard stealth and infiltration alongside intricate combat of Assassin’s Creed games to continue in some form, there are a few things worth noting about the game which could shake up the traditional AC formula.In an interview with IGN, Cote states that Hexe “will not be an RPG” in an attempt to “bring more diversity to the places we choose to visit and to how we choose to represent those periods.” So, we know for sure that the game will not play in a similar way to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Odyssey, or Origins. But the genre and length of Hexe still remain a mystery.With RPG elements stripped out, there are a lot of potential routes the game could take, which leads us to believe that a more survival horror adventure game could be likely - if it also doesn't follow the old-school stealth routes the Mirage is brought back, too.Unusually, we also haven’t seen the assassin or protagonist for the game - not even an outline or silhouette. With the game being potentially set within the witch trials of the Holy Roman Emperor, taking the role of someone being trialed or hunted would be an incredibly interesting take on the game.

Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe developer

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The precise Ubisoft studio behind Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe is Ubisoft Montreal. This is significant in two ways. Firstly, this is the studio that began the series back in 2007 with the first game, and secondly, this is the team behind the largest RPG-style entry of them all in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. For what it's worth, it's also the studio behind Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn, Assassin's Creed Origins, and Watch Dogs 2 (to name but a few).In terms of personnel, Clint Hocking is onboard as creative director, whose credits include some of the above games - some of the most expansive from Ubisoft.

Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe news

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin’s Creed Hexe will leave a “lasting mark on the franchise” according to a LinkedIn postAccording to a LinkedIn post shared by Ubisoft Motreal’s Talent Acquisition Specialist, Yara Tabbara, Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe will “leave a lasting mark on the franchise.” The details of what this means for the game are unknown and we still have a huge amount to learn, including a genre, concrete setting, and release date, but it’s still exciting enough to know that Hexe could shake up Assassin’s Creed as we know it.Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe announced as part of Ubisoft Forward 2022The first trailer for Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe was shown at Ubisoft Forward 2022, offering a look at a shadowed woodland and an all-new look for the logo, before placing it on a pentacle and ending the trailer. With such an extreme lack of information to go off, the trailer leaves the door open to interpretation for players, and there’s a lot of speculation already circulating about what this game will offer and how it will separate itself from the traditional franchise.

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Maybe it’s time to give super apps another go. They never really took off in the West, but with AI agents now in the mix, there’s an argument that conditions may be ripe for the super app dream to finally be viable.From WeChat to Gojek, Paytm, and Alipay, the APAC region is pretty familiar with super apps – i.e one app to rule them all. It’s the dream of all your favorite applications for payments, fitness tracking, doctor appointments, social media, paying bills, taxi ordering, food delivery, and more in a streamlined one-stop shop and user interface.To varying degrees, the West has tried to replicate this concept over the last decade, and not without reason. CNBC tech reporter Arjun Kharpal perhaps said it best recently: “we’re all sick of dozens of apps on our phones.” But maybe that’s an understatement, because as of 2025, there are roughly 9 million mobile apps in the world.Typically, most apps in the West have been purpose-built for a particular function. With so many apps competing for consumers’ attention, however, that model won’t be sustainable for long at the rate that apps are multiplying.So, what would bring super apps into the mainstream? The answer may be AI super agents.

Why super apps misfired in the West

There’s a good reason super apps have struggled in the West. Consumer behaviors in the APAC region evolved along a path that was very different from North America or Europe. China’s desktop internet phase never became that mainstream, thanks to high cost and reliability challenges related to its broadband infrastructure. Instead, China prioritized a mobile-first ecosystem, courtesy of some lightning-fast infrastructure buildout. This placed virtually every data-related activity inside people’s smartphones. It only made sense to centralize all that data activity somewhere.The West, meanwhile, developed a much more fractured app landscape across hybridized desktop and mobile device usage. How often did people complain about that in the 2000s, or the 2010s? Well, for the most part, Westerners accepted that reality – enough so that people are exceedingly loyal to brands. You can’t flip the status quo overnight.Some companies have certainly tried to beef up apps by consolidating features. A recent example includes Rocket Companies’ desire to become ‘a housing super app’ following its deal to buy the real estate listing site, Redfin. But there have been other cases like Meta adding dating to Facebook, Paypal experimenting with combining social media and finance, or Spotify adding video features. Even Uber’s CEO has talked before about wanting to build “the operating system for your everyday life.”

Personalization will be AI super agents’ superpower

For a super app to truly work, the tech industry would need to go much farther than it has to unite customers’ favorite features and apps into a single, user-friendly interface. This won’t be easy, but AI agents significantly mitigate that difficulty in one crucial way: personalization. Today’s services have to be tailored to customers’ preferences.The great thing about AI agents is they wouldn’t just aggregate services or spit out the latest prices for smartphones when asked. They can adapt to user behavior and preferences. You could even get an agent to compare prices across the platforms you regularly visit or book a trip to Bali for the best price-quality ratio. It’s not too hard to imagine a vast network of specialized AI agents running in integration with each other. In theory, those specialized agents could operate inside the same familiar interfaces customers have already been using. There’s genuine potential for an app ecosystem so interconnected that the very concept of individual apps could fade away with time.This would even have significant implications for how developers build apps. They wouldn’t have to build apps from scratch. If the Uber of tomorrow could just hook up an AI agent with its ordering systems through APIs, you could conceivably get that agent to generate compatible code for every relevant platform or OS. That would mean the complete democratization of app development. Developers would, of course, still need to facilitate things like the interfaces that creators use to build apps. But learning to code would take a backseat to developing great ideas with the human languages we already speak – the ultimate programming language.

Super apps and super agents needs to feel super to use

Whether super apps ever reach mainstream popularity in the West will hinge on the user experience. If the selling point of super apps is convenience, then the Alexa model of voice interaction alone won’t cut it. Integrating agents into super apps would have to be done with the understanding that humans like to actually feel tactile feedback and see information displayed visually.The benefits of a good UI/UX would extend far beyond the usability of super apps. A good UI/UX could in theory lessen challenges around making AI agents compliant with strict data and privacy regulations that discourage developers from feeding large aggregates of information through an AI (which hurts the personalization benefit). Imagine if a user was given a privacy control panel that looked like a graphic equalizer – accessible, while still offering users universal control over data.Sooner or later, super apps will probably become more of a necessity than a dream. Oversaturation of apps will be a problem for businesses and consumers alike, and whatever solution the tech industry presents should add convenience to counteract inconvenience. Like any technology, AI agents and super apps should be a means to an end, solving genuine problems. We should not be holding any end users or developers captive to any application or system.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Thinking back, it has only been 25 years since the burst of the dot-com bubble. Technology now sits at the core of daily life and work, having seen an unprecedented level of transformation since that time. Companies are rushing to invest in the next phase of Artificial Intelligence - AI agents. But with the constant technological revolution and relentless innovation, we’re seeing a renewed reliance on intrapreneurs to navigate these headwinds.A concept developed in the late 1970s, intrapreneurs work within a company to form innovative ideas and projects to advance that company’s mission. These are your CEOs, product development managers, and even marketers. But in this AI-powered, AI-driven, AI-enhanced future, the role of the intrapreneur is fast becoming that of a navigator. The one holding the map. Keeping enterprises on the right course, determining whether certain technological trends are fact or, indeed, science fiction.The intrapreneur will continue to be a key productivity driver as businesses embrace Klaus Schwab’s newly-coined “Intelligent Age” - the new AI era building on Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Break big ideas into small wins

Market trends shift in the blink of an eye, new technologies and AI models emerge daily, and customer preferences change on a whim. Successful intrapreneurs recognize that flexibility is essential for large enterprises where competition can be cutthroat and AI regulations come thick and fast.Intrapreneurs break major IT projects into manageable stages and continuously iterate their products and services through feedback. Feedback is key to fostering an environment where change is welcomed and projects are refined. This flexibility allows intrapreneurs to stay ahead of the curve, where competing perspectives and buy-in threaten to derail even the most innovative projects.

Master AI, but lead with emotional intelligence

AI-powered systems are decentralized networks of intelligent agents, allowing companies to automate tasks, enhance decision-making, and improve customer experiences. Successful intrapreneurs are masters of these tools using them to optimize processes, make efficiency gains and reveal new sources of value.To thrive in this unrelenting environment, successful intrapreneurs keep their finger on the pulse of technological advancements. AI tools evolve constantly, and our understanding of them, and their potential applications, need to stay current and ready for future success.The path to intrapreneurial success is rarely linear. Resilience is one of the most essential traits of a successful intrapreneur. Instead of viewing challenges as roadblocks, they see them as learning opportunities to strengthen the business in the long run.Resilience is complemented by emotional intelligence. Intrapreneurs who understand their own emotions, as well as the emotions of their teams, are better equipped to lead through uncertainty. This ability to empathize, clearly communicate, and manage conflict is critical when driving innovation and navigating complexity.Skills will become quickly outdated in the Intelligent Age. Successful intrapreneurs understand the importance of continuous learning - not just for themselves but also for their teams. Staying curious keeps your team at the forefront of industry trends, and poised to embrace these new technologies to put you ahead of the game.Intrapreneurs shouldn't rely solely on their creativity - they should encourage innovation throughout all organizational levels. It's about nurturing a culture that generates fresh ideas and makes lasting change by creating a space for experimentation. Remember, failure is only a stepping stone to success.

Build relationships that fuel innovation

Intrapreneurs understand that they can't achieve transformation in isolation. Building a strong network of peers, mentors, and cross-functional teams within their organization is essential. These relationships provide valuable insights, access to resources and, ultimately, accelerate innovation.Strategic partnerships can also fuel growth outside the organization. By engaging with external ecosystems—whether through partnerships with startups, technology providers, or industry leaders—intrapreneurs gain access to cutting-edge technologies and new market opportunities. This broadens the scope for innovation and helps future-proof the organization.As AI and automation become a bigger part of businesses, there are important ethical issues to consider. Successful innovators focus on using AI responsibly. They make sure their company protects data privacy, is open about how AI is used, and treats everyone fairly. This helps build trust with customers and supports the company’s values.Intrapreneurs are also expected to support social responsibility. This can mean working on sustainability, company charity programs, or helping the community. They lead efforts to create a positive impact. Doing this improves the company’s reputation, makes employees happier, and helps build customer loyalty.

Turn trends into action

Successful intrapreneurs excel at anticipating the future. By utilizing AI tools and data analytics, they can identify industry trends, market shifts, and potential disruptions before they occur. This foresight allows them to proactively adjust strategies, ensuring their company is prepared for change rather than reacting to it.A well-articulated vision is a key component of intrapreneurial success. Intrapreneurs with a clear vision for change align their efforts with the organization's long-term goals. This vision serves as a guiding light, helping teams stay focused and motivated, even during periods of uncertainty.At the heart of every successful business lies its customers. In a world where AI-powered systems transform customer experiences, intrapreneurs must remain attuned to changing customer expectations. AI-powered data analytics tools have a place of privilege in the intrapreneur’s workshop, allowing them to better understand customer behaviors, anticipate needs, and deliver personalized solutions that build loyalty and drive growth. Leading to a more efficient, engaging and valuable experience for customers.To become a successful intrapreneur in an AI-powered world requires mastering a diverse skill set. Intrapreneurs must embrace adaptability and agility, understand AI-powered agentic swarms, cultivate resilience and emotional intelligence, foster continuous learning and innovation, build strategic networks and partnerships, demonstrate ethical leadership, develop strategic foresight and vision, and prioritize customer-centricity.By integrating these core principles into their approach, intrapreneurs can drive meaningful change, navigate uncertainty with confidence, and position their organizations for long-term success.

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After a delay, Nintendo has confirmed Switch 2 pre-orders kick off on April 24 in the USThe Switch 2 will still start at $449.99, meaning no price increaseSome accessories for the Switch 2 will cost more

We finally have some good news for those in the United States who have been eagerly awaiting information on the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 here. Just a few days before pre-orders were set to kick off on April 9, 2025, the gaming giant delayed them due to new tariffs being imposed by President Donald Trump.That long wait is over, though, as Nintendo has just announced that Switch 2 pre-orders will kick off in the United States on April 24, 2025. In even better news, the price remains the same – $449.99 for the Nintendo Switch 2 and $499.99 for the console plus the new Mario Kart World title.Additionally, Mario Kart World will still cost $69.99, and Donkey Kong Banaza stays at $59.99 in both physical and virtual editions. So yes, no price increases for the Switch 2, the console plus a game, the main launch title from Nintendo, and a new entry into a classic title.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

That’s where the good news ends, though. As we’ve seen with other electronic devices since the Trump Administration tariffs began, not everything is without a price increase.Nintendo writes, “Nintendo Switch 2 accessories will experience price adjustments from those announced on April 2 due to changes in market conditions.” Here’s what that looks like so far for the Joy-Con 2, Pro Controller, and Switch Camera:

Joy-Con 2 controllers are up to $94.99 from $89.99The Pro Controller is now $84.99 from $79.99The Switch Camera is $54.99 from $49.99

Now, a $5 increase isn’t as dramatic as one that Nintendo might have been thinking of making while monitoring the economic situation.Still, an increase is an increase, and Nintendo does note that more of this could happen in the future: “Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions.”These are, of course, all suggested prices from Nintendo. If the Switch 2 proves to be a hard preorder, we could see price gouging from third-party resellers. That’s common for major console launches, including the PS5, Xbox Series X, and even the Nintendo Wii.Even with some increases, it’s nice to know that the United States will get a preorder window, and it kicks off in just six days. The Switch 2 console, its many accessories, and Mario Kart World, among dozens of other titles, will then officially launch on June 5, 2025.We're expecting to hear from retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, and GameStop, among others, to share plans for preorders on April 24, 2025. TechRadar's reached out to them for comment, and we'll update this story when we hear back.If you’re hoping to preorder from Nintendo directly, you can register your interest, but the first batch of invites for preorders from the My Nintendo Store will roll out on May 8, 2025. You’ll need a Switch Online membership alongside some other requirements to preorder this way.Either route, stick with us as we count down to the launch of the Switch 2 and pre-orders in the United States.

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Looking for a different day?A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, April 18 (game #676).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #678) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

HOTDEVILGOLDENINTRO CLASSLABBULLYSANDYADDRESSDRYCANNABISLECTUREJAMES BONDTALKCHOWVASTSPEECH

NYT Connections today (game #678) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: Speaking to a groupGREEN: Describing the SaharaBLUE: Casual canines PURPLE: Numeral alternatives

Need more clues?We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #678) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: SPOKEN PRESENTATIONGREEN: ADJECTIVES FOR A DESERT BLUE: DOG BREEDS, INFORMALLY PURPLE: REPRESENTED BY THREE-DIGIT NUMBERS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #678) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #678, are…

YELLOW: SPOKEN PRESENTATION ADDRESS, LECTURE, SPEECH, TALKGREEN: ADJECTIVES FOR A DESERT DRY, HOT, SANDY, VASTBLUE: DOG BREEDS, INFORMALLY BULLY, CHOW, GOLDEN, LABPURPLE: REPRESENTED BY THREE-DIGIT NUMBERS CANNABIS, DEVIL, INTRO CLASS, JAMES BOND

My rating: HardMy score: 2 mistakes

Today was a day where I got three in every group (well, apart from purple obviously) and took a chance on the fourth each time.For SPOKEN PRESENTATION I originally had INTRO instead of ADDRESS. Then for ADJECTIVES FOR A DESERT I thought we were looking for words that describe a beach, so I went with GOLDEN rather than VAST.That’s where my mistakes ended, but I still struggled to get the last dog breed. BULLY, CHOW and LAB were locked in but the fourth eluded me – so I gambled with Golden.Meanwhile, I had no idea CANNABIS was represented by a number, although I should have seen the pattern with JAMES BOND (007), DEVIL (666), and INTRO CLASS (101). How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, 18 April, game #677)

YELLOW: INTERJECTIONS BOY, GOODNESS, MAN, WOWGREEN: HORROR MOVIES, WITH "THE" BIRDS, EXORCIST, HAUNTING, SHININGBLUE: THINGS YOU CAN PICK APPLE, BANJO, CARD, NOSEPURPLE: PERSONAL PROPERTY MINUS "S" BELONGING, EFFECT, GOOD, POSSESSION

What is NYT Connections?NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Legends International releases a data breach notification letterIt says it suffered a cyberattack and data breach in November 2024The investigation into the nature of the stolen data is ongoing

Legends International, a company providing premium services for sports and entertainment venues, has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and losing sensitive data.In a sample data breach notification letter, the company said that it identified “unauthorized activity” on its IT systems in early November, 2024.After taking parts of its infrastructure down and running an investigation, it discovered that “certain Legends files” had been accessed and exfiltrated during the attack.

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Under investigation

The letter does not discuss the nature of the data stolen, so we don’t know if it’s the usual (names, email addresses, postal addresses), or if it includes more sensitive information (payment data, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.).Basic information, belonging to former employees and customers, is most likely taken, given how Legends worded it in the letter: “It appears that Legends had your personal information in these files because you either worked at or visited a venue managed by Legends.”The company offered 24 months of free identity theft services to affected individuals, through Experian. Victims have until July 31, 2025, to sign up.This, CyberInsider argues, could mean that "highly sensitive personal data" was taken, as well.The investigation seems to be ongoing, and law enforcement has been notified. Therefore, we still don’t know how many people might have been affected. However, since the organization is rather large, it could be a major incident.Legends International employs roughly 5,800 people across six continents and recently reported an estimated annual revenue of $1.7 billion for the period ending March 31, 2024.​At press time, no threat actors assumed responsibility for the attack, and Legends hasn’t found the data being shared anywhere online just yet.Still, the company urged its former employees and customers to remain vigilant and keep a close eye on their account statements and credit history for any signs of unauthorized transactions.

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Looking for a different day?A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, April 18 (game #1180).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1181) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1181) - hint #2 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1181) - hint #3 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1181) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1181) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• G• L• R• E

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1181) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1181, are…

GRADELAUGHRAINYEXULT

Today’s challenge was like freewheeling downhill thanks to my start words turning over a big crop of correct letters.My only pause was for EXULT. Even though I had the U,L, and T in the correct positions and knew there was only one option I still had that moment of trepidation when using a rarely used letter. X marks the spot.How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1181) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1181, are…

PIXELMAYBEFLUTEROWER

Quordle answers: The past 20

Quordle #1180, Friday, 18 April: DEBUT, GLADE, BASTE, PESTOQuordle #1179, Thursday, 17 April: SPRAY, RAMEN, SHELF, COURTQuordle #1178, Wednesday 16 April: STUMP, GRAFT, CHORD, INPUTQuordle #1177, Tuesday 15 April: SLEET, MERIT, HARSH, FORAYQuordle #1176, Monday 14 April: DRAWL, CROOK, ACTOR, LANCEQuordle #1175, Sunday 13 April: SHALE, KINKY, SHORN, WHOOPQuordle #1174, Saturday 12 April: BLIND, OVOID, CACHE, THINGQuordle #1173, Friday 11 April: FOLLY, PITHY, SCOWL, CURLYQuordle #1172, Thursday 10 April: LEAST, SEWER, UNTIE, NOOSEQuordle #1171, Wednesday 9 April: LITHE, LEFTY, KNOLL, MULCHQuordle #1170, Tuesday 8 April: WIDTH, VISOR, MEDAL, BROOKQuordle #1169, Monday 7 April: BROTH, SHOUT, BRUTE, CABINQuordle #1168, Sunday 6 April: AMBER, GAUZE, STORE, SLICKQuordle #1167, Saturday 5 April: GUSTY, VAULT, WHINE, BEGATQuordle #1166, Friday 4 April: OAKEN, LOOPY, CURIO, BUTTEQuordle #1165, Thursday 3 April: ASCOT, JETTY, DRUNK, JOLLYQuordle #1164, Wednesday 2 April: INDEX, QUEEN, INCUR, STOLEQuordle #1163, Tuesday 1 April: HUMUS, BALMY, WORRY, ERECTQuordle #1162, Monday 31 March: RECUT, MOODY, WHERE, BRACEQuordle #1161, Sunday 30 March: CRIME, DRINK, CLOVE, TRUER

Looking for a different day?A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, April 18 (game #411).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #412) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?• Today's NYT Strands theme is… ___ a ___

NYT Strands today (game #412) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

NICE BRATMEANBEANTRUEBREAK

NYT Strands today (game #412) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #412) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?First side: top, 2nd columnLast side: bottom, 5th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #412) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #412, are…

HINTCHANCEHIKEGANDERNUMBERSELFIEBREATHERSPANGRAM: TAKE THAT

My rating: EasyMy score: Perfect

A great theme today and one that was originally a mystery until it revealed itself with HINT. A nice in-joke from team Strands.I used to work for a British tabloid magazine called Take a Break, whose pages were divided between puzzles and real life stories — plastic surgery that had gone wrong, love rats cheating people out of their life savings.It was a great magazine to work on, in part because it was so loved by its readers. So, obviously, I was hoping it would make an appearance in today’s “take a ____” search?Interestingly it is in the grid, but it didn’t make the cut to become an actual answer. How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, 18 April, game #411)

TILEDOMINOTOKENCHECKERKNIGHTBATTLESHIPSPANGRAM: GAME PIECES

What is NYT Strands?Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct showcase behind us, we now know more about the console than ever before, including its release date (June 5) and price ($450). We're also keeping a close eye on how the recently-announced tariffs in the United States are affecting Nintendo's launch plans. Pre-orders in the US and Canada are now set to start on April 24.

Thanks to Nintendo's January 16 teaser trailer, we've long known what the Switch 2 will look like, and that it will arrive in 2025 — over eight years after its predecessor. The Nintendo Switch 2 looks very similar to the original system, albeit with a larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons and a sleeker design. The upcoming console will be backwards compatible with Switch games.

Looking to catch up on everything we know about the Switch 2? Read on.

What are the key new features of the Nintendo Switch 2?

Display and dock

The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 1080p 7.9-inch display with a 120Hz refresh and HDR compatibility. It also supports up to 4K output at 120Hz (with variable refresh rates) when docked.

Joy-Con and Pro Controller

The new Joy-Con 2 for Nintendo Switch 2 attaches magnetically with a button to release them. They have larger SL and SR buttons (the ones hidden when the Joy-Con are attached) to make playing multiplayer games on individual Joy-Cons more feasible. These buttons are also made of steel and attach to the Switch 2's magnets.

The analog sticks are no longer tiny nubs, and are closer in size to the ones you might find on a PS5 or Xbox controller. However, they do not have Hall effect sensors, the use of which can minimize the risk of the "stick drift" issue that plagued the original Joy-Cons.

The Joy-Con 2 have what Nintendo is calling “HD Rumble 2” built in, which seems to be a refinement of the original (and still very good) vibration function. Finally, each Joy-Con 2 has an optical sensor that allows you to use it as a mouse, and a C button, which we’ll get to in a minute.

Nintendo

The new Pro Controller for the Nintendo Switch 2 comes with everything you’d expect based on the refreshed Joy-Con 2: Namely HD Rumble 2 and the C button. There are also remappable GL/GR buttons around the back and a standard audio jack for connecting a headset.

Both options come with Amiibo support built in. The Switch 2 comes with two Joy-Con 2, as you’d expect, and additional pairs are priced at $95. The Pro Controller will cost $85.

The C button stands for "chat"

The new C button is a dedicated way to enter a chat session with friends. As well as the standard features you’d expect from voice chat, Nintendo has built a Discord-like video-sharing feature, which lets you show your gameplay to others and see other people’s screens while you’re playing.

The GameChat function works with a mic built into the console, though headsets are also supported. Nintendo will also sell a $55 camera that plugs into the USB-C port on the top of the console, which will allow you to stream your face along with your game.

Nintendo

GameCube support

The Switch 2 will work with GameCube games via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. The three titles available at launch will be F-Zero GX, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Soul Calibur II.

Improved specs

Perhaps the biggest feature, though, is one you can’t see: The Switch 2 has an all-new processor and GPU and significantly more storage (256GB vs 64GB in the Switch OLED), along with support for faster and more capacious microSD cards. This will obviously lead to better first-party games and upgraded Switch experiences, but more importantly it will mean multi-platform games that had to skip the original, underpowered Switch will be able to be ported over. With games like Cyberpunk 2077 coming to the Switch 2 at launch, it seems like far more ports will be feasible than on the original console.

Another major improvement comes in the form of networking — the Switch 2 supports Wi-Fi 6, which will improve the original's often glacial download speeds. Similarly, the new dock sports an Ethernet port for a rock-solid connection.

What's it like to play?

Nintendo gave the press a chance to check out the Switch 2 and a few of the games it highlighted. You can read our impressions of Mario Kart World as well as more general thoughts on how the Switch 2 feels in person. Right off the bat, Mario Kart World feels like an outstanding launch title, with more depth and better visuals than we've ever seen from a Mario Kart game. The core formula is intact, but there are a lot of new features and play styles to dig into.

As for the Switch 2 hardware, it feels like a major step forward from the original Switch — it has grown up a lot and feels far more polished and refined. And while it may not have an OLED screen, the 7.9-inch LED display Nintendo did use is outstanding.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?

June 5, 2025.

When do pre-orders open for Nintendo Switch 2?

Pre-orders will go live in the US and Canada on April 24. They were originally set to begin on April 9, but on April 4 Nintendo announced it was suspending pre-order plans in the US "indefinitely" in reaction to a slate of tariffs imposed by President Trump. In any case, Nintendo says that the release date for the console is unchanged.

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

On April 2, Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 would cost $450 standalone, or $500 with a bundled digital copy of the new Mario Kart game, Mario Kart World. That’s significantly more expensive than the original Switch, which launched at $300, and has remained at that price ever since. It’s also more expensive than the entry-level current-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

The comparison looks a little better up against Valve’s Steam Deck, which costs $400 for the LCD model or $550 for the basic OLED model. The Steam Deck is more affordable than most PC handhelds.

When Nintendo delayed the pre-orders from the original date of April 9, it said it was doing so "in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions." With heavy US tariffs levied on Nintendo's Asian production centers, the implication was that would have little choice but to pass at least some of those costs on to American consumers. But Trump's April 9 tariff pivot — reverting to 10 percent across the board for 90 days for all countries except China, which now gets a triple-digit hit — further muddied the waters. That's because it's unclear how much, if any, of the components and assembly of US-bound Switch 2 consoles will originate in China.

The administration exempted some electronics from reciprocal tariffs, but they'll soon be subject to new levies on semiconductors. Some analysts suggest that Nintendo will be selling consoles at a loss in the US with even a 10 percent tariff.

Nevertheless, the company is keeping the price of the Switch 2 at $450 and the Mario Kart World bundle at $450. However, it noted that it had to increase the prices of Switch 2 accessories "due to changing market conditions" and added that other price modifications may occur in the future for a similar reason.

How much do the Nintendo Switch 2 accessories cost?

When Nintendo announced the rescheduled Switch 2 pre-order date for the US and Canada, it confirmed price increases for many of the console's accessories. The current US prices for the accessories are as follows:

Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller — $85

Joy-Con 2 Pair — $95

Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip — $40

Joy-Con 2 Strap — $14

Joy-Con 2 Wheel Set — $25

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera — $55

Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set — $120

Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case & Screen Protector — $40

Nintendo Switch 2 All-In-One Carrying Case — $85

Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter — $35

Samsung microSD Express Card – 256GB for Nintendo Switch 2 — $60

The price of the Joy-Con 2 strap has gone up by $1, but the prices of other products have risen by between $5 and $10, with the dock set getting the larger increase. Thankfully, your Nintendo Switch 2 will come with a dock. Nintendo also released a list of accessory prices for Canada.

How long will the Switch 2's battery last?

Nintendo says that the Switch 2 will last between 2 and 6.5 hours on a single charge. This is similar to the original Switch, which was rated for 2.5-6.5 hours, though later revisions upped that figure significantly. The company cautions that "this time is an estimate ... battery life will depend on the games you play and usage conditions."

When can I try the Nintendo Switch 2?

Nintendo is hosting a worldwide roadshow to let gamers go hands-on with the console. These events started in New York and Paris on April 4-6, with others taking place throughout the following two months.

Ticket registration for many of the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events has closed, but waitlists are available. However, given that Nintendo is taking a first come, first served approach, your chances of attending the roadshow if you don't already have a ticket (or unless you signed up for the waitlist immediately) seem very small at this point.

The full list of Nintendo Switch 2 Experience dates is as follows:

North America:

New York, April 4-6, 2025

Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025

Dallas, April 25-27, 2025

Toronto, April 25-27, 2025

Europe:

Paris, April 4-6, 2025

London, April 11-13, 2025

Milan, April 25-27, 2025

Berlin, April 25-27, 2025

Madrid, May 9-11, 2025

Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025

Oceania:

Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025

Asia:

Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025

Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025

Hong Kong, To be announced

Taipei, To be announced

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?

Nintendo confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles.

In the initial Nintendo Switch 2 press release, Nintendo reiterated that physical and digital Switch games will work on the new system. However, it noted that "certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2." We now have more information on which games are working thanks to a guide Nintendo put together.

Nintendo's software compatibility chart on April 2, 2025.Nintendo

As of April 1, the vast majority of Switch 2 games are marked as compatible, but many popular games are said to have some issues. Nintendo has marked most of these as “under investigation,” suggesting a fix may be on the way in time for launch. Nintendo says it is manually testing every Switch game for compatibility.

Only one title is marked as incompatible: Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. This was part of Nintendo’s Labo range of games that worked with Cardboard accessories, and is incompatible as the Switch 2 doesn’t physically fit in the VR headset.

Will old games be enhanced in any way?

The original Switch has, to put it mildly, struggled to run some of the late-generation software that's come down the pike. Could these games be enhanced to take advantage of the increased horsepower of the Switch 2? That’s unclear. In an “Ask the Developer” page on its site, Nintendo says that old games are working through a real-time translation system, which sounds similar to how Rosetta allows modern Macs to run old software. With that said, the new and old Switch are much closer in hardware than that.

In the same developer interview, it’s said that in its testing of old games for compatibility, there were some occasions “where loading times became faster, or game performance became more stable,” but we don’t have any detail beyond that.

As well as backward compatibility, Nintendo is also offering up premium "Switch 2 Edition" upgrades for a select few games. These have improved resolutions and frame rates, and (in some cases) bonus features and content. What exactly that means will vary, but Nintendo did confirm that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will have 4K/60 fps and 1080p/120 fps options on the Switch 2.

Games confirmed to have a Switch 2 Edition to date include:

Super Mario Party Jamboree

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

In the case of the two mainline Zelda games, those upgrades will be included with a Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership or cost $10 each. Upgrades for the other games are also paid, but Nintendo has not said how much those will cost.

What will the cartridges taste like?

You may remember that the original Switch cartridges taste absolutely awful. This was on purpose, to discourage folks from putting the games in their mouth.

Similarly, the Switch 2 carts are also said to taste terrible, in large part to stop children or pets from accidentally ingesting them. It is not yet clear what substance Nintendo has coated the Switch 2 cartridges in to make them taste foul, but Nintendo's Takuhiro Dohta advised against licking them all the same.

"We don't want anybody to be at risk of any unwanted consumption," he told GameSpot. "We have indeed made it so that if it enters your mouth, you'll spit it out."

What are the launch games?

We expect this list to change substantially over the coming weeks and months, but the titles currently confirmed to be available on day one follow:

Arcade Archives 2 Ridge Racer

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster

Cyberpunk 2077

Deltarune

Fast Fusion

Fortnite

Hitman: World of Assassination

Hogwarts Legacy

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

Mario Kart World

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S

Split Fiction

Street Fighter 6

Survival Kids

Yakuza 0: Director's Cut

That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with any information we can gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.

Update, January 24, 2025, 12:36 PM ET: This story has been updated to include speculation about price, potential game enhancements and the taste of cartridges.

Update, February 5, 2025, 9:30AM ET: This story has been updated to note the time when the April 2 Nintendo Direct starts.

Update, February 24, 2025, 12:30 PM ET: This story has been updated to include speculation about storage and information about the new microSD Express standard.

Update, March 6, 2025, 2:30PM ET: This story has been updated to note recent FCC filings to indicate the presence of Wi-Fi 6 and NFC support.

Update, March 14, 2025, 12:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include pricing and sales speculation from analysts.

Update, March 20, 2025, 12:45PM ET: Updated to include a note about the Seattle Mariners new jersey patches featuring Nintendo and the Switch 2.

Update, March 27, 2025, 3:50PM ET: Updated to add details about the C button, Nintendo Today! and Virtual Game Cards.

Update, April 1, 2025, 10:16AM ET: Updated to add link to livestream and details on its length.

Update, April 2, 2025, 4:40PM ET: Added details from the April 2 Nintendo Direct event, including specifications, price, release date and launch titles.

Update, April 4, 2025, 11:17AM ET: Added details about pre-orders being put on hold.

Update, April 7, 2025, 1:56PM ET: Added details about the Switch 2 cartridges still (reportedly) tasting terrible, the lack of Hall effect sensors in the controllers and game upgrade pricing.

Update, April 9, 2025, 5:41PM ET: Added context on how the changing rules on the Trump tariffs may or may not affect Switch 2 pricing in the US.

Update, April 11, 2025, 7:11PM ET: Re-affirmed that May 8 is when Nintendo is confirming the first batch of pre-orders through its site, after a faulty report online suggested otherwise.

Update, April 18, 2025, 10:33AM ET: Added details about the new pre-order date for the US and Canada, as well as accessory pricing.

Jeff Dunn contributed to this report.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-updates-pre-order-date-price-games-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-143310081.html?src=rss

INC Ransom recently added Ahold Delhaize to its data leak siteThe company confirmed losing sensitive data in the attackThe investigation is still ongoing, so users should be wary

Ahold Delhaize, one of the world's largest food retail groups, has confirmed it lost sensitive data from its US business in a November 2024 cyberattack.The confirmation came after the threat actor responsible, INC Ransom, added the company to its data leak website, sharing sample documents they claim were stolen in the attack."Based on our investigation to date, certain files were taken from some of our internal U.S. business systems," an Ahold Delhaize spokesperson told BleepingComputer. "Since the incident was detected, our teams have been working diligently to determine what information may have been affected."

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Under investigation

In early November 2024, Ahold Delhaize disclosed a cybersecurity incident which forced it to shut down parts of its IT infrastructure."This issue and subsequent mitigating actions have affected certain Ahold Delhaize USA brands and services including a number of pharmacies and certain e-commerce operations," the company said back then.The company said that it was still investigating the incident, and if it determines that customer data was taken, it would notify affected individuals."If we determine that personal data was impacted, we will notify affected individuals as appropriate. In addition, we have notified and updated law enforcement," Ahold Delhaize added.Until the investigation concludes, we won’t know how many (if any) customers are at risk, but it’s worth mentioning that Ahold Delhaize is a Dutch-Belgian multinational retail and wholesale holding company, operating some 7,910 stores across Europe, the United States, and Indonesia, and serving around 72 million customers weekly.The company’s spokesperson told the publication that all of its stores and e-commerce services are open and operational, and that customers should not face any problems as a result of the breach.

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Kia's first all-electric sedan, the 2026 EV4, is making its official debut in the US at the New York International Auto Show, which runs from April 18 to April 27. The automaker first announced the vehicle in Spain back in February, with the promise that it will release the model in the USA, as well. It's built on top of the company's 400V Electric Global Modular Platform, which serves as the basis for all of Kia's electric vehicles. In the US, the EV4 will come with a built-in North American Charging Standard (NACS) port for compatibility with Tesla charging stations. Those in the New York area can check out the vehicle for themselves, as the show is open to the public starting today (April 18).

The Kia EV4 has two battery options: A standard 58.3 kWh battery for the Light model and a long-range 81.4 kWh battery for the Wind and GT-Line models. Kia says its Light and Wind models have an estimated range of 235 miles and 330 miles, respectively. However, they're manufacturer estimates and not official EPA numbers yet.

You can charge the car from 10 to 80 percent within just 28 minutes for the Light battery and 31 minutes for the long-range battery. No matter what model you choose, the vehicle comes with a front-mounted 150 kW motor and Kia's Advanced Driver Assistance features. Unfortunately, the automaker didn't reveal how much it would cost you to get one, possibly because it has yet to attach an official price tag to the EV4 due to the tariffs the US government is imposing on cars and car parts made outside the country.

In addition to the EV4, Kia is also showcasing the EV9 Nightfall Edition at the Auto Show. The Nightfall edition of the company's three-row electric SUV is covered in a Gloss Black finish, including its 20-inch wheels, and has a dark Kia emblem. Even its interior is in black. The Nightfall EV9 will be manufactured at Kia’s West Point, Georgia assembly plant and is expected to be available in the US in the second quarter of 2025.

Update, April 18 2025, 11:45PM ET: This story has been updated to add information to the intro on the New York Auto Show's dates and location.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/the-kia-ev4-makes-its-us-debut-at-the-2025-new-york-auto-show-140036440.html?src=rss

If you've been hanging onto an older Apple Watch for a few years or you're an iPhone user who perhaps wants to pick one up for the first time to better track your activity, here's a deal for you. The Apple Watch Series 10 is once again on sale. It has dropped back down to $299, which matches a record low price. The smartwatch usually retails for $399.

This deal is for the 42mm GPS version of the Apple Watch Series 10 with a Sport Loop strap in various colorways (there's no LTE connectivity in this one). Other configurations are available for less than usual too — the 46mm Series 10 with a Sport Loop is also $100 off at $329.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is our pick for the best smartwatch overall, though note that you'll need a compatible iPhone to use it. We gave the wearable a score of 90 in our review.

Admittedly, this is a relatively iterative upgrade. If you have an Apple Watch Series 8 or 9, the upgrade might not be worth it. But if you're an Apple Watch newcomer or you're upgrading from an older model, this is probably the one to go for.

The Series 10 has a larger screen than its predecessor, which makes it easier to see notifications and such. The thinner frame looks nicer too. However, while the Apple Watch Series 10 is great for fitness and wellness tracking, it's a bit disappointing that the device lacks the blood oxygen feature seen in earlier models (though Apple had little choice but to nix that here).

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-apple-watch-series-10-is-back-on-sale-for-299-155611025.html?src=rss

Proofpoint says multiple state-sponsored groups seen using ClickFix attack techniqueRussians, North Koreans, and Iranians all involvedState-sponsored actors are mostly engaged in cyber-espionage

The ClickFix attack technique has gotten so popular that even state-sponsored threat actors are using it, research from Proofpoint claims, having observed at least three groups leveraging the method in the final quarter of 2024.In an in-depth report, Proofpoint said it saw Kimsuky, MuddyWater, UNK_RemoteRogue, and APT28, all using ClickFix in their attack chains.Kimsuky is a known North Korean threat actor, MuddyWater is Iranian, while UNK_RemoteRogue and APT28 are allegedly Russian. Aside from North Korea’s Lazarus Group, state-sponsored threat actors are mostly engaged in cyber-espionage, stealing sensitive information from diplomats, critical infrastructure organizations, think tanks, and similar organizations from adversary states.

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No revolution

"The incorporation of ClickFix is not revolutionizing the campaigns carried out by TA427, TA450, UNK_RemoteRogue, and TA422 but instead is replacing the installation and execution stages in existing infection chains," Proofpoint explained.ClickFix has been making headlines for months now. It is a social engineering tactic similar to ancient “You’ve got a virus” popups that used to plague internet sites two decades ago.Originally, the popup would invite the visitor to download and run an antivirus program which was, in fact, just malware.When the industry addressed this attack by striking the infrastructure, crooks pivoted to leaving a phone number for alleged IT support.Victims calling this number would be tricked into installing remote desktop programs, giving crooks the ability to download and run malware on their devices.The ClickFix attack takes this method and gives it a unique spin. It still starts with a popup but sometimes the victims are also asked to “complete a CAPTCHA”, “verify their identity”, or similar. The process doesn’t require them clicking on a download button, but instead asks them to copy and paste a command in their Run program.While it sounds far-fetched, it’s been quite successful, proven by nation-states’ adoption, as well.Via The Hacker News

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It's almost time to welcome Andor back to our screens.The highly-rated Star Wars TV show is about to return for its second and final season. And with plenty of new and familiar faces set to appear, you'll want to know who'll feature in the Disney+ series' next installment.Below, I'll run you through the main characters in Andor season 2, the actors portraying them, and where you might have seen them before.While there are no cast or plot-based spoilers for season 2 from this point on, there are major spoilers for Andor season 1. Proceed with caution if you're still watching it.

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor

Luna will return as Andor's protagonist (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

The titular character, once again played by Luna, heads up Andor's talented cast.In the season 1 finale, Cassian Andor became a fully-fledged member of the nascent Rebel Alliance. In season 2, he'll carry out numerous covert missions for the rebellion's de facto leader Luthen Rael – one of which will see Luna uncover the Empire's terrifying plans to unleash the Death Star on planets that oppose their totalitarian rule.Luna is best known for playing Andor in this program and 2016 Star Wars film Rogue One, which is actually a sequel to Andor even though it was released six years before the show's first season. Luna has also appeared in DC League of Super-Pets, La Maquina on Hulu, and Narcos: Mexico on Netflix, among other projects.

Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma

Mon Mothma is considered to be the deuteragonist of this Star Wars TV show (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Andor may bear the titular hero's name, but it's very much an ensemble piece. For one, Mon Mothma is as integral to the story told in one of the best Disney+ shows as Cassian is.Last season saw the soon-to-be-Rebel Alliance's commander make some shady deals to not only help fund its operations but also ensure monetary transactions couldn't be traced back to her by the Empire. Expect season 2 to depict the fallout from these incidents as the Chandrila-born Senator slowly transforms into the leader she must become.Having played Mothma in four projects prior to Andor, O'Reilly also returns for the series' next installment. Viewers may recognize her from bit-part roles in The Matrix movie series and The Legend of Tarzan, as well as bigger roles in Tolkien, Glitch, and Tin Star.

Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael

Luthen Rael will continue to operate from the shadows in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

The main fulcrum of this embryonic rebellion, Luthen Rael, will continue to play the role of puppet master in Andor's second season. He'll be portrayed by Skarsgård again, too.Skarsgård will be familiar to fans who've watched the Thor films – the beloved actor played Erik Selvig in the God of Thunder's first two standalone flicks. Away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), he's appeared in fan-favorite and/or acclaimed productions including Good Will Hunting, The Hunt for Red October, Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies, and HBO's award-winning dramatization of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen

Bix escaped to whereabouts unknown in season 1's final episode (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Arjona returns for season 2, too, with the Puerto Rican actor stepping back into the shoes of Andor's ex-girlfriend, who's also a talented mechanic and black market dealer.When we last saw Bix, she was traveling to pastures new after being rescued by Cassian following her imprisonment by, and psychological torture at the hands of, the Empire. With this season featuring some "very sexy" time jumps throughout its 12-episode run, we'll see how Bix deals with that trauma and how it impacts her relationship with the show's protagonist.With appearances in Netflix projects like Hit-Man and 6 Underground, as well as roles in Morbius, Emerald City, and Prime Video's Good Omens, Arjona is a talented star you'll have seen in at least one other film or TV series.

Denise Gough as Dedra Meero

Meero's pursuit of Andor will continue in the hit show's next chapter (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

After trying (and failing!) to catch Cassian last season, Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) officer Dedra Meero is back on the case in season 2. However, after events that transpired in last season's finale, a fledgling relationship with one of her fellow Empire workers may force her to take her eye off the ball...Denise Gough, who most recently starred in The Stolen Girl on Hulu and Disney+, aka two of the world's best streaming services, will portray Meero once more. Primarily a TV actor, Gough has starred in other shows, such as Titanic: Blood and Steel, Stella, Guerilla, and Under the Banner of Heaven.

Kyle Soller as Syril Karn

Syril Karn has seemingly moved on from pursuing Cassia in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

The man who initially led the charge in trying to track down and arrest Cassian, former security service employee Syril Karn, will also return this season. Just as he was last time around, he'll be played by Kyle Soller.Fans of Lucasfilm's legendary galaxy far, far away have wondered what's in store for the morally complex Empire worker this time around. Obviously, I won't spoil anything here, but let's just say the series' most complicated character will be tested in more ways than one when Andor's second chapter premieres.As for where you might have seen Soller before, he's appeared in Poldark, Bodies, and Monsters: Dark Continent, among others.

Faye Marsay as Vel Sartha

Vel, seen here in season 1, is largely absent from Andor 2's trailers... (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

One of Luthen's most trusted individuals, Vel Sartha's faith in the shadowy operator may be wavering somewhat in the wake of season 1's final episode. Nevertheless, her loyalty to the cause, as well as those she's closest to, has never diminished.Season 2 will find Vel back on her homeworld of Chandrila after her reunion with her cousin – that being none other than Mon Mothma. As for what else lies in store for her this season? That would be telling.Marsay was most recently seen in Netflix's emotionally powerful and politically topical Adolescence miniseries, but she's also had roles in Ten Pound Poms, Game of Thrones, Avocado Toast, and Lady Chatterley's Lover, to name just four.

Varada Sethu as Cinta Kaz

...As is Vel's fellow Luthen disciple and love interest Cinta (pictured) (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Until recently, it was unclear if Varada Sethu would return as Cinta Kaz. Thanks to Andor season 2's official trailer, though, we know another of Luther's acolytes and Vel's love interest will be back for more secret missions as part of the Rebel Alliance.Like Marsay, Sethu's face will be instantly recognizable to any TV aficionado. Indeed, she's playing the new companion – Belinda 'Bel' Chandra – in Doctor Who season 2, which recently debuted on Disney+ (internationally) and BBC One/BBC iPlayer (UK). She's also appeared in other shows, such as Annika, Hard Sun, and the Strike Back TV franchise.

Elizabeth Dulau as Kleya Marki

Luthen's multi-talented assistant will have a more prominent role in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Every leader needs a good assistant – and Luthen certainly has one in the form of Kleya. Unwaveringly loyal to the Rebel Alliance's founder, Kleya is Luthen's second-in-command when it comes to rebellion affairs and those concerning his Coruscant-located antiques shop, which is a front for the rebels' secret headquarters.Kleya proved to be a breakout role for Dulau, whose star has risen since she played the character in Andor's debut season. Since then, she's had roles in Maternal, All the Light We Cannot See, and one of the best movies of 2024 in Wicked.

Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic

The man overseeing the Death Star's development will appear in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

I couldn't have been more excited for Ben Mendelsohn's return as Orson Krennic when it was first teased in June 2024. The Galactic Empire's Director of Advanced Weapons Research was not only the primary (and incredibly sinister!) villain in Rogue One but also the man responsible for overseeing the Death Star's creation.Again, spoilers notwithstanding, he'll have a pretty fairly large role in season 2. That's particularly true towards its end as Andor's sophomore outing eventually leads into Rogue One's first act.Mendelsohn's most recent role saw him play legendary fashion designer Christian Dior in Apple TV+'s The New Look. Other significant roles of his include Talos in the MCU, Danny Rayburn on Bloodline, Nolan Sorrento in Ready Player One, and John Daggett in The Dark Knight Rises.

Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera

The Partisan Group leader has had a complicated relationship with Rael over the years (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Saw Gerrera, commander of the rebel militia group known as The Partisans, is set to appear in season 2. Just as he did in Rogue One and Andor season 1, Forest Whitaker will portray the insurgent group's leader. Expect him to butt heads with the likes of Rael whenever he appears.Whitaker needs no introduction. The Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe winner has appeared in numerous fan-favorite and acclaimed projects over the years. From Black Panther and The Last King of Scotland to Bird and Roots, to ER and Sorry to Bother You, and many besides, you'll have seen Whitaker in any number of film and TV productions over the decades.

Alan Tudyk as K-2SO

K-2SO is Cassian's android bestie in Rogue One, but how did the pair meet? (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

K-2SO was conspicuous by his absence in Andor's first season. Considering he's Cassian's android bestie in Rogue One, fans were baffled over his lack of inclusion last time out. However, if further evidence was needed that he's in its sequel, Andor season 2's first trailer confirmed it.Again, no spoilers, but you'll finally learn how he and the titular character came to be best buds in season 2. Just don't be surprised if you have to wait a while for that encounter to play out.Tudyk, who was the mocap actor and voice for K-2SO in Rogue One, reprises his role as the reprogrammed imperial security droid. Tudyk was last seen (or, rather, heard) in Creature Commandos' first season on Max, but his list of credits is a lengthy one that includes Resident Alien, Wish, The Electric State, Moana, Frozen, MODOK, Harley Quinn, and The Santa Clarita Diet, to name a few.The workaholic actor will next appear in James Gunn's Superman movie, with Tudyk set to voice another android character in Kelex.

Muhannad Bhaier as Wilmon

Wilmon is another of Cassian's friends who escaped to regions unknown after the season 1 finale (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

A character with a small but important part to play in season 1, Wilmon will have an expanded role in its follow-up chapter. We last saw him leaving Ferrix alongside Bix and Brasso (more on him shortly) in the season 1 finale.Like Dulau, one of the latest new Star Wars movies and TV shows represented a breakthrough moment for Bhaier. Before it began airing in mid-2022, he'd only appeared in 2018 TV movie Mariah: The Diva, the Demons, the Drama.

Joplin Sibtain as Brasso

Brasso also fled Ferrix in season 1's final chapter (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

The third and final Ferrix dweller to leave seeking refuge on another world, Brasso is a long-time friend of Cassian, Bix, and Wilmon's. Sibtain, who's appeared in Hard Sun, Doctors, and EastEnders among other TV shows, will portray Brasso once more.With Brasso being held at gunpoint by stormtroopers in both trailers for season 2, Star Wars fans are understandably concerned for his welfare. I'm keeping mum on what becomes of him, though, because, you know, spoilers and all that.

Kathryn Hunter as Eedy Karn

Everyone's favorite overbearing mom is back in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

If Syril, not to mention Andor's fanbase, thought they'd seen the last of Eedy Karn, they'd be sorely mistaken. That's right, everyone's favorite overbearing mom is back to molly-coddle her only child in the popular series' final chapter.Most recently, Hunter played a supporting role in Black Doves, aka one of the best Netflix shows of 2024. Other famous roles of hers include The Tragedy of Macbeth, Megalopolis, the Harry Potter film franchise, and Rome.

There are plenty of other supporting characters who'll have roles in season 2. That includes Perrin Fertha (Alastair Mackenzie), Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser), Tay Kolma (Ben Miles), Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane), B2EMO (voiced by Dave Chapman), Leida (Bronte Carmichael), and Lonnie Jung (Robert Emms).However, this article would be three times as long as it is if I included everyone. If any of the above end up having sizable parts to play this season, I'll add them to the main cast roster.

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There’s no denying the allure of shiny new tech (I mean, have you seen the smartphone images Engadget’s Sam Rutherford takes?). But you don't always have to shell out for the latest model to get a good gadget. Buying refurbished will be much easier on your wallet, sometimes saving you hundreds of dollars over buying new. And with tariffs threatening to increase the costs of all goods — tech included — going the refurbished route might become the more popular option in the near future. And let's not forget, buying refurbished is far easier on the environment, since the majority of a device’s environmental impact happens in the manufacturing process and, as a bonus, it keeps old tech out of the e-waste stream for a little longer.There’s no regulation for what constitutes “refurbished” tech, but it’s often a level or two above “used” items you’d buy off a guy on the street. Refurbished usually means the device has undergone some combination of testing, cleaning and repair — often all three — and it should perform as if it were new, with only minor scuffs to indicate its past life. But some outlets aren’t as trustworthy as others when it comes to refurbished options. We have a few recommendations for places to find refurbished tech that all have documented processes for how they handle the process. We also point out what to look for when you’re shopping for such tech, so you get something as close to new as possible.

What to consider when buying refurbished devices

Refurbished vs used

Refurbished is not the same as used. Used items tend to be sold “as-is,'' which means you’re simply inheriting whatever mileage and quirks a device had when the previous owner said goodbye to it. It’s true that most refurbished items were previously owned, and many are a result of the growing trend of trading in your old device when you upgrade. But others were hardly used at all and are one of the millions of returns generated each year. Either way, a properly refurbished item has undergone testing to verify that it works, along with cleaning, repairs and parts replacement as needed.

Since there are no government regulations for renewed items, it’s up to the sellers to define what steps they take to ready a device for sale. And it’s up to the buyer to find out what those steps are before taking the plunge. The processes for refurbishing devices from Apple, Bose, Microsoft, Google Pixels and Samsung, for example, include cleaning, inspection, parts replacement as needed and shipment in a new box with the originally supplied accessories. They also all provide a one-year warranty.

Warranties and returns

A refurbished device should perform as well as its new counterpart, but the only way to guarantee that’s the case is to make sure it comes with a warranty. All of the sites we recommend below include a warranty with the products they sell. If you see something labeled as refurbished, but doesn’t include some sort of guarantee as to its reliability – shop elsewhere.

Also, a good return policy will let you send the item back (preferably with the same free shipping a new item gets) for any reason — including that you just changed your mind. That way if a refurbished product doesn’t look as good as you thought it would, you can send it back without having to prove there’s something wrong with it.

Sanitation

Most refurbished tech was used before it made its way back on the market. And while renewed items are cleaned, you’ll still need to consider your comfort with sanitation issues when buying things like headphones and earbuds.

Polina Lebed via Getty Images

Where to buy refurbished tech

We recommend going directly to the manufacturer whenever possible, especially for more technical items like smartphones and laptops. If you need a new MacBook, check out Apple’s refurbished stock first; if you want a new Galaxy phone, hit up Samsung before anyone else. Repairs will be handled using genuine parts and you’re far more likely to get items that were properly unpaired from the original owner and all data wiped.

Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy are decent options if you’re on a tighter budget or if you’re looking for gadgets from a manufacturer that may not have its own refurbished outlet. Refurbished marketplaces like BackMarket can be useful if you’re looking for older, more specific items, or if price is the number one factor for your purchase.

Other retailers

Some smaller manufacturers like Dyson, Vitamix, Nintendo and JBL offer their own refurbished products, but for many other brands, you may need to head to a retailer.

Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/where-to-buy-refurbished-tech-140028700.html?src=rss

Blue Prince is an incredible puzzle game. Set in a lonely mansion with impossible architecture, it’s layered in mysteries, conspiracies and family drama. The mansion, Mt. Holly, officially has 45 rooms, but in order to collect your inheritance, you have to find the 46th. Every day you’re given a set number of steps, and you have to literally build the manor (and the game) as you go, drawing from a pool of floorplans to create a new layout with each run.

This is the foundation, but it goes so much deeper: When I previewed Blue Prince in December 2024, I couldn’t have imagined its complexity. It’s not a game you can fully understand in a few runs; it takes 10 hours to realize what its core puzzles even are, and even longer to then piece their solutions together, room by room, step by step. It’s a slow, supremely satisfying burn. The puzzles in Blue Prince are cavernous and surprising, and it’s thrilling to interact with the game’s mechanics and items. Not to mention, it’s all absolutely gorgeous.

Dogubomb

Though Blue Prince isn’t marketed as a cooperative experience and it doesn’t have any kind of multiplayer input, it naturally lends itself to co-op play. Mechanics matter less than the concepts on-screen, and it’s useful to have one person on controls and another on a notepad, jotting down clues and tracking progress. Plus, one of the best ways to get unstuck in a game like this is to talk things through, and this naturally happens when you’re playing together. Blue Prince is just a really intricate puzzle, after all, and we’ve been doing those things in group settings for ages.

This is a true of many single-player puzzle games — their common theme being that they’re secretly couch co-op experiences. You could say all games are local co-op if you try hard enough, but only in puzzle games can a bystander play along without ever touching a controller, directing the action and providing critical breakthroughs simply by paying attention. You’re not going to have the same level of impact watching your friend play Assassin’s Creed, you know?

Dogubomb

Blue Prince is only the latest example of an undercover couch co-op puzzle game. My partner and I have happily played a handful of similar games together in recent years, and it’s gotten to the point that I now breeze right past the “single-player” descriptor on most puzzle titles. Here’s a shortlist of my household’s favorites:

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

The Talos Principle 2

The Sexy Brutale

The Rise of the Golden Idol

Return of the Obra Dinn

The Witness

Viewfinder

Storyteller

All of these games are officially single-player, but they’re as good, if not even better, when played with a loved one. On my couch, we’ve also enjoyed actual local co-op puzzlers like Escape Academy, so if your relationship can survive those games, it should be able to handle Lorelei, Talos or Blue Prince with ease.

While we’re waxing poetic about the intricacies of video game sub-genres (OK fine, just one of us is), Blue Prince falls into another one of my favorite categories, which I affectionately call “anti-GameFAQs puzzle games.” These are designed to be impossible to capture in a traditional walkthrough guide, and while the category isn’t large, it includes some of the best titles of this generation, like Tunic and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. These lean so heavily on the thing that makes video games unique as a media product — player autonomy — that they feel like a hostile attack on step-by-step explainers, and I absolutely love that. (These games also tend to remind me of House of Leaves, which could be another sub-genre on its own, but I’ll stop here. For now.)

Playing Blue Prince with my partner in 2025 reminds me of the specific lazy afternoon in the summer of 2008 when some friends and I discovered Braid on Xbox Live Arcade. We spent hours playing from my buddy’s dingy couch, passing the controller around, pointing at the screen and yelling out strategies, and just marveling at that little time-shifting toxic dude. Shared experiences like this generate a specific kind of warmth, and a great puzzle game can produce these moments over and over again.

Even if it’s technically single-player.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/every-puzzle-game-is-a-couch-co-op-game-actually-163024595.html?src=rss

The European Commission (EC) reportedly delayed regulatory penalty announcements against Apple and Meta this week as it accelerates its push for a trade deal with the US. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal said the move led to concern from European Parliament lawmakers that political factors are influencing the body's regulatory decisions.

The EU is said to have initially planned to announce cease-and-desist orders against Apple and Meta on Tuesday and reportedly told at least one of the companies about the timing in advance. The WSJ says the decision to postpone the announcement came shortly before EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met with US officials in Washington on Monday, the official's first in-person talks with the US since President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause.

On Tuesday, an EC spokesperson said technical work had been completed on the cases, but no dates had been announced. "We're currently working on the adoption of final decisions in the short term," the spokesman reportedly said.

Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

The European Commission's penalties stem from the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to level the playing field for smaller companies competing with Big Tech behemoths. The EC probed Meta for its scheme that lets users opt out of personalized ads, for a price. Meanwhile, Apple's case relates to the company's rules that limit developers' ability to steer consumers to transactions outside the App Store. The EC opened the probes in March 2024.

Under the DMA, companies could be fined up to 10 percent of their global annual revenue. However, the WSJ reports that the financial penalties would be much lower than that, and the cease-and-desist orders would be much more impactful.

Earlier this month, EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera told lawmakers that the EC wouldn't meet her March deadline to issue a decision on Apple and Meta. That statement was on April 8, a day before Trump officials announced a pause on the "Liberation Day" tariffs.

The WSJ reports that the regulatory decisions are still expected to advance, but it isn't clear how long their announcement will be delayed. The European Commission has previously claimed it would fight to defend its "regulatory autonomy" despite pressure from Trump and his Big Tech backers to neuter the bloc's restrictions on American businesses.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-regulators-reportedly-delayed-apple-and-meta-penalty-announcements-ahead-of-us-trade-talks-164644661.html?src=rss

We've come to notice that whenever Hulu prepares to remove titles from the platform, its list is very condensed and doesn't seem to have any impact on the best Hulu movies. When it comes to Hulu's May 2025 schedule, it's the same protocol.Just because its best movies and shows are here to stay for another month on one of the best streaming services, that doesn't mean that there aren't any titles worth bingeing before they get the chop, one of them being the drama/ thriller movie Italian Studies (2021) starring Vanessa Kirby and Maya Hawke.Hulu is also cracking down on removing some of its highest-rated documentaries from The Last Tourist (2021) and The Capote Tapes (2019). So take if from me, if you're a fan of a good documentary movie now is the perfect time to knuckle down on checking them off your watchlist before Hulu removes them.

Everything leaving Hulu in May 2025

Leaving on May 3Both Sides of the Blade (movie)Last Survivors (movie)Leaving on May 8The Last Warrior (movie)Leaving on May 10Bar Fight! (movie)Murder at Yellowstone City (movie)Leaving on May 11A Cops and Robbers Story (movie)Italian Studies (movie)Leaving on May 12Not Going Quietly (documentary)Leaving on May 13The Capote Tapes (documentary)Leaving on May 14All the Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Hip Hop and Skateboarding (1987-1997) (documentary)Leaving on May 16Kandahar (movie)Sundown (movie)The Immaculate Room (movie)Leaving on May 17Slash/Back (movie)Leaving on May 19President (documentary)Leaving on May 25A Taste of Hunger (movie)Leaving on May 27The Requin (movie)Leaving on May 28Intrigo: Death Of An Author (movie)Leaving on May 31Gamestop: Rise of the Players (documentary)Mob Land (movie)The Last Tourist (documentary)Try Harder! (movie)

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Tesla is facing a proposed class action suit over allegations that it has been speeding up odometers so its vehicles will fall out of warranty faster, according to a report by Reuters. This would make it easier for the company to get out of paying for repairs.

Nyree Hinton, the plaintiff in the case, alleges that Tesla odometer readers are designed to change with energy consumption, driver behavior and mysterious predictive algorithms, and not actual mileage driven. He said that the odometer on the 2020 Model Y he bought in December 2022 had 36,772 miles on the clock at the time of purchase.

Hinton alleges that the odometer went up by 72 miles each day, when he only drove around 20. He made comparisons to his other vehicles and concluded that the odometer ran, at the minimum, 15 percent fast. This caused his 50,000-mile basic warranty to expire ahead of schedule, which forced him to pay a $10,000 suspension repair bill out of pocket.

"By tying warranty limits and lease mileage caps to inflated 'odometer' readings, Tesla increases repair revenue, reduces warranty obligations, and compels consumers to purchase extended warranties prematurely," the complaint said.

Hinton is seeking compensatory damage for himself, but also punitive damages for all Tesla drivers in California. This encompasses over one million vehicles, according to court papers. Tesla has denied all allegations in the lawsuit. EV forums and related subreddits, however, are filled with odometer complaints involving the company.

Tesla owners are seeing inflated odometer readings 20-30% higher than driving the same route with a different vehicle or compared to Google Maps trip distance.Hey @NHTSAgov you up? pic.twitter.com/Gb2LiBfZge— Mike Rundle (@flyosity) April 22, 2024

Of course, this isn’t the first time Tesla has been charged with fibbing about mileage data. The automaker has faced litigation that accused it of inflating vehicle driving ranges. It has also been accused of forming a secret “Diversion Team” that would cancel range-related service appointments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-accused-of-messing-with-odometers-to-get-out-of-repair-bills-165625372.html?src=rss

TDK’s Spin Photo Detector pushes AI data speeds ten times beyond today’s techAI bottlenecks may vanish as TDK shifts focus from GPU to data transferSpin Photo Detector uses laser-induced magnetism for ultrafast photoelectric conversion

Japanese manufacturer TDK has claimed it has achieved a major breakthrough in solving one of the most pressing problems in artificial intelligence. No, not GPU performance, but rather data transfer.Its innovation, called the Spin Photo Detector, combines magnetic, optical, and electronic technologies to move data at speeds up to ten times faster than existing semiconductor-based photodetectors can offer.TDK’s device reaches response speeds of just 20 picoseconds - or 20 trillionths of a second - using light at a wavelength of 800 nanometers.

TDK’s Spin Photo Detector

“This data transfer is the biggest bottleneck for AI rather than the semiconductor GPU performance,” said Hideaki Fukuzawa, senior manager of the company’s next-generation product development center.“Since we can break through many of the current bottlenecks, we think this technology will be a game-changer for the AI and data center industry."To achieve this, TDK re-engineered its magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) technology, previously used in billions of hard disk drive heads.The MTJ structure is only 200 nanometers wide and integrates a single CoFeB free layer that responds to laser pulses. It allows switching from parallel to antiparallel magnetic states with 100% reliability under defined conditions.Unlike semiconductors that rely on carrier generation and face limitations at short wavelengths, Spin Photo Detectors use electron heating, enabling faster speeds and broader spectral coverage. The MTJ elements are also resistant to cosmic rays, making them ideal for aerospace applications.“The Spin Photo Detector holds remarkable promise, both from a scientific and technological perspective,” said Arata Tsukamoto, a professor of electrical engineering at Nihon University who collaborated with TDK on validation.TDK’s device demonstrated effective operation across a wide range of wavelengths, from 300 nm to 1.6 µm. Its ultrafast analog light detection capability, energy efficiency, and compact size open up potential applications in AR/VR smart glasses, high-speed imaging, and space systems. This development could also help address power consumption issues in AI deployment.The technology could serve markets where fast, low-latency data transfer is crucial for AI workloads and graphics-heavy tasks.TDK expects to supply samples by March 2026 and is aiming for mass production within five years. Thanks to the few processing steps required, it expects to maintain a cost advantage and challenge major chipmakers like TSMC and Nvidia, who are investing heavily in silicon photonics.Via Financial Times

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Huawei launches CloudMatrix 384 Supernode to rival Nvidia’s NVL72 AI CloudMatrix 384 delivers nearly double the compute power with superior memory and bandwidthConsumes almost four times the power but system efficiency is less critical in China

Huawei has been positioning itself as the Chinese Nvidia for some time, and now, the South China Morning Post reports the company has launched a new AI infrastructure architecture set to rival the US chip giant’s NVL72 system.Nvidia’s NVL72 links 72 GPUs using NVLink technology, allowing them to function as a single, powerful GPU. Built for trillion-parameter AI models, it delivers real-time inference at speeds up to 30 times faster than previous systems by avoiding traditional data transfer bottlenecks.SCMP said Huawei’s rival to this, the CloudMatrix 384 Supernode, has been described as a "nuclear-level product" by unnamed Huawei sources. According to reports, it uses 384 Ascend 910C chips to deliver 300 petaflops of dense BF16 compute, that's almost double the 180 petaflops offered by Nvidia’s NVL72.

Power hungry

The CloudMatrix 384 Supernode has so far been deployed at Huawei’s data centers in Wuhu, a city in central Anhui province, the report says.Writing about the new product, SemiAnalysis confirms this rack-scale solution competes directly with Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72 and, in some metrics, outperforms it. The site says that despite sanctions, China’s domestic semiconductor capabilities are growing and Huawei’s strength lies in system-level engineering, including networking, optics, and software.While the Ascend chips rely heavily on foreign supply chains, such as HBM from Samsung and wafers from TSMC, Huawei has managed to skirt export controls through complex sourcing strategies.The CloudMatrix 384 doesn’t only outperform the NVL72 in terms of compute, it also offers 3.6x aggregate memory capacity and 2.1x more memory bandwidth. However, something Huawei is likely less keen to shout about is that it consumes nearly four times the power.SemiAnalysis points out that in China this is less of an issue than you might think. Abundant power generation means efficiency is less of a constraint compared to in the West, and China is expanding its energy grid rapidly, supporting such power-hungry AI infrastructure, even when supply outstrips demand.

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It’s no secret that we here at TechRadar use Filmmaker or Movie picture mode, depending on the TV, during our testing when we’re reviewing TVs – we've written about why in our explanation of how we test TVs. As one of TechRadar’s TV reviewers, I find that these modes generally give the most accurate colors, contrast and textures when compared with most other picture modes, even on the best TVs.That said, some TVs actually have a very good Standard mode, which can be useful for daytime, broadcast TV or brighter, more colorful movies. And of course, picture mode choice is subjective; not everyone will like the dimmer, warm-favoring Filmmaker Mode.One thing that all of us here at TechRadar will stand by, however, is our feelings on Vivid modes; they're bad. Or at least they're the worst of the picture modes. Colors are often oversaturated, textures are too sharp and brightness is dialled up way too high, overblowing bright sections of the picture.To demonstrate, I put the LG G5 OLED TV (one of the best OLED TVs of 2025 which earned five-out-of-five in our LG G5 review) next to the Panasonic MZ1500 (one of the best mid-range OLEDs of the last few years) playing the same scene from Wicked.In the below pictures, you’ll see I cycle through the G5’s different Dolby Vision picture modes, while the MZ1500 stays in the most accurate Dolby Vision Dark mode as a point of reference – we love the MZ1500 for its natural picture and accuracy, so this provides a great baseline.The LG G5 is on the left and the Panasonic MZ1500 is on the right for all images.

Dolby Vision Filmmaker

(Image credit: Future)

In Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, the G5 demonstrates natural-looking colors that also still deliver the vibrant, dynamic punch you’d want when viewing a colorful movie like Wicked. Textures are also true-to-life, with both Elphaba’s skin and the surrounding stone walls displayed with real accuracy.There’s also good contrast on display here, with the blue inlays balancing well with the beige stone, and Elphaba’s black dress also contrasting well with the brighter surroundings, including the glossy pink flowers.

Dolby Vision Cinema

(Image credit: Future)

Compared with Dolby Vision Filmmaker, Dolby Vision Cinema shows a boost in brightness, which means colors have a bit more punch and the brighter tones of the picture (the beige, stone walls) appear that little bit lighter.Crucially however, textures and details are still accurate and natural, as are colors, and contrast between light and dark tones (the walls with Elphaba’s dress) are still balanced. Although I still prefer Filmmaker Mode, this is a very close second.

Dolby Vision Standard

(Image credit: Future)

Dolby Vision Standard goes even brighter than Dolby Vision Cinema mode and favors a cooler color palette than both Filmmaker Mode and Cinema mode. The beige walls take on a slighter whiter hue, but again colors get that injection of higher brightness.This is where textures and colors straddle the line between accurate and oversaturated, with the pink flowers now starting to take on a glossier, shinier look (which isn’t always better). Elphaba’s green skin remains mostly true-to-life however and contrast is still solid enough.

Dolby Vision Vivid

(Image credit: Future)

And then there’s Dolby Vision Vivid. Yes, there’s a significant brightness boost, which in this instance shows just how bright the LG G5’s new Primary Tandem RGB, or ‘four-stack’, OLED panel can go. While some may like the increase in brightness, this is where accuracy takes a real hit.The pink flowers now take on an oversaturated, ‘neon’ pink color and as a result, definition between each flower is lost. Textures start to lose their true-to-life look as well, with the cracks in the walls all too well-defined, taking on an unnatural, over-sharpened appearance.Even the blue details on the walls, which were more subtle in other picture modes, stand out too much and again take on this unrealistic tone. The details on Elphaba’s dress, such as the creases and buttons, also stick out like a sore thumb, taking on the horrible ‘uncanny valley’ effect.Browse all the above images:

Image 1 of 4Dolby Vision Filmmaker on the G5 (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4Dolby Vision Cinema on the G5 (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4Dolby Vision Standard on the G5 (Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4Dolby Vision Vivid on the G5 (Image credit: Future)

Avoid Vivid

Interestingly, the LG G5 is actually one of the better examples of Vivid I’ve come across in my time testing TVs. But that’s because it’s an elite OLED! Even then, I’d still avoid its Vivid mode like the plague. If Filmmaker Mode isn’t for you, Cinema or Standard should offer more than sufficient enough brightness without sacrificing accuracy or true-to-life colors and textures.Yes, Wicked is a naturally bold and dynamic movie with an exaggerated color palette (green is a pretty central theme after all) but even then, it shouldn’t look as overexaggerated as Vivid would suggest.

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Ryan Gosling is officially joining the Star Wars universeHe'll play an all-new character in Star Wars: Starfighter, which hit theaters in May of 2026The casting and film were announced at Star Wars Celebration in Japan

While we’ve known there are some feature-length Star Wars films in the works, up until late last night – April 17, 2025 – we only knew that the Mandalorian and Grogu would make the jump to the big screen next Memorial Day, May 26, 2026.But hold your blue milk – there’s another brand-new Star Wars film set for May 2027, and it starts production this Fall. Even better, it’s directed by Shawn Levy, the man behind the incredibly excellent Deadpool & Wolverine, but maybe even better is the fact that Ryan Gosling is joining the Star Wars universe.Yes, the actor with his roots in the Mickey Mouse Club and the person who played Ken in Barbie, will be playing an all-new character in Star Wars: Starfighter. The title of the forthcoming film certainly has intrigue, but not a whole lot else about the plot or the storyline is known.

Star Wars: Starfighter comes to theaters on May 28, 2027. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/dsbVb3VdBYApril 18, 2025

The casting was announced on stage at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan. Starfighter will be a stand-alone film that is set five years after The Rise of Skywalker. Gosling was wearing a hat with the phrase, “Never tell me the odds.” on it, a Han Solo quote which might hint that this will be an action-packed adventure film. And it will be turning a new page as the Skywalker saga will be concluded by this point.Star Wars: Starfighter is slated to begin production this fall and will be released on Memorial Day 2027, which means May 28. After a year, Star Wars is set to return to big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu.While we have footage of both Gosling and Levy on stage at Celebration 2025, the only other piece of media is a logo, title teaser for the Starfighter film. It’s a journey we’ll be following closely on TechRadar, though.

Sam Witwer has surprised fans at the Lucasfilm Animation 20th anniversary #StarWarsCelebration panel. https://t.co/l7Y4C7Zr3M pic.twitter.com/M76x28yJFSApril 18, 2025

Also announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 is a new animated series titled, Maul: Shadow Lord. And this will be excellent news for fans of The Clone Wars, among other animated shows in the Star Wars universe. Better yet, Sam Witwer will be reprising his role to voice Maul in this show. Maul: Shadow Lord will be exclusive to one of the best streaming services, Disney+, when it arrives in 2026.If you’re looking for more of the latest news from Star Wars Celebration 2025, stick with TechRadar. We’ve already gotten a closer look at Lucasfilm’s Beyond Victory title for the Meta Quest 3S and 3, a slew of new Lego sets, and a bunch more Celebration-exclusive products that are appearing on Amazon.That helps with the fomo a bit, but I do hope Star Wars continues the trend of the Mandalorian movie and puts the BDX Droids in Starfighter.

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As part of their ongoing celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope's 35th anniversary, NASA and ESA have shared a new image of the Eagle Nebula, specifically a "spire of cosmic gas and dust" that's in a region last captured by the telescope two decades ago.

The tower in the image is 9.5 light years tall, according to NASA and ESA, and only a portion of the larger Eagle Nebula, which is considered a "nursery" for young stars. The tower's unique mix of oranges and dark blues is thanks to a combination of swirling hydrogen gas and space dust. The nebula's "Eagle" name comes from how it looks when you pan across it, where edge clouds like the one in the image look like the wings of a giant bird of prey.

ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll

As of late, the James Webb Telescope has become the designated source for spectacular images of space, but clearly Hubble still has some juice in it, too. Some of that is thanks to "new data processing techniques" that are being applied to the images captured by the telescope.

The Eagle Nebula is just one of several celestial targets Hubble is revisiting for its 35th anniversary. By capturing different angles and using data differently, the telescope is able to produce more spectacularly colored images. There's no major discoveries made with these "reruns," but they are, without a doubt, even cooler than before. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/celebrate-the-35th-anniversary-of-the-hubble-space-telescope-with-a-gigantic-tower-of-gas-and-dust-184340147.html?src=rss

The Apple Sports app just introduced a new feature called Game Card Sharing. This lets users generate digital game cards that carry information about a specific match. The cards can be generated for upcoming, live and completed games. In the latter two cases, the score will be displayed.

The cool part about these cards is that they are shareable across iMessage or via social media platforms. I could see this being useful in a group chat with friends, as a handy way to keep track of an ongoing match. Just look for the share button on the upper-right side of each card.

There is one caveat. It requires the latest version of iOS, so it might be time to finally strap in for an update. These cards work with a whole bunch of sports leagues, including the NBA, MLB, NHL and even stuff like the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

For the uninitiated, Apple Sports is a free iPhone app that delivers real-time scores and various stats. It also displays useful stuff like broadcast information. It even lets users pin real-time scores to the lock screen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-apple-sports-app-now-lets-users-create-and-share-game-cards-184235076.html?src=rss