What's on TV this week: 'Mulan,' 'The Boys,' 'Tony Hawk' and 'NBA 2K21'

September has arrived and with it, we’re seeing more new games launching for the fall season, as well as some new options for binge watching. The big highlight this week is Disney’s “premium VOD” release of its live-action Mulan flick, which will cost $30 for Disney+ subscribers to watch it early at home.

For gamers, highlights are Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers game, NBA 2K21 (which can include a next-gen upgrade if you’re willing to pay extra) and the remastered skating game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.

On streaming, Amazon has season two of its superhero-adjacent series The Boys, and Netflix’s latest rom-com is Love, Guaranteed, while it’s also streaming a new space series Away. The most intriguing item is a new movie from Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich), called I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

Look below to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray, video on-demand & Games

• Mulan (4K), Disney+, 9/4

• Beetlejuice (4K)

• Pitch Black (4K)

• The Goonies (4K)

• Sherlock Holmes (4K)

• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (4K)

• WRC 9 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

• Marvel's Avengers (Xbox One, PS4, PC)

• NBA 2K21 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)

• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PS4, PC, Xbox One 9/4)

Tuesday

• The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! (Interactive), Netflix, 3 AM

• Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions, Netflix, 3 AM

• Back to the Future I / II / III, Netflix, 3 AM

• Sister, Sister (S1 - S6), Netflix, 3 AM

• Pineapple Express, Netflix, 3 AM

• Coneheads, Netflix, 3 AM

• Bookmarks (S1), Netflix, 3 AM

• True: Friendship Day, Netflix, 3 AM

• Corporate Animals, Crackle, 3 AM

• Dead Pixels, CW, 8 PM

• America's Got Talent, NBC, 8 PM

• Transplant (series premiere), NBC, 10 PM

• Hard Knocks: Los Angeles, HBO, 10 PM

Wednesday

• Chef's Table: BBQ: Vol. 1, Netflix, 3 AM

• Freaks - You're One of Us, Netflix, 3 AM

• Bad Boy Billionaires: India (S1), Netflix, 3 AM

• Catfish, MTV, 8 PM

• AEW: Dynamite, TNT, 8 PM

• America's Got Talent, NBC, 8 PM

• House of Payne (season premiere), BET, 8 PM

• Dodgeball Thunderdome, Discovery, 9 PM

• Assisted Living (series premiere), BET, 9 PM

• Ghosted: Love Gone Missing (season premiere), MTV, 9 PM

• The Coroner, CW, 9 PM

• Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports, Vice, 10 PM

Thursday

• A.P. Bio (S3 premiere), Peacock, 3 AM

• Star Trek: Lower Decks, 3 AM

• Love, Guaranteed, Netflix, 3 AM

• Young Wallander (S1), Netflix, 3 AM

• To Tell the Truth (season finale), ABC, 9 PM

• Lost Resort, TBS, 10 PM

• Cake (season finale), FXX, 10 PM

• Desus & Mero, Showtime, 11 PM

Friday

• The Boys (S2), Amazon Prime, 3 AM

• A Most Beautiful Thing, Peacock, 3 AM

• Earth to Ned (S1), Disney+, 3 AM

• I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Netflix, 3 AM

• Anthony, Peacock, 3 AM

• Pixar in Real Life (season finale), Disney+, 3 AM

• Away (S1), Netflix, 3 AM

• Noughts + Crosses, Peacock, 3 AM

• Ted Lasso, Apple TV+, 3 AM

• WWE Smackdown, Fox, 8 PM

• Love Island, Fox, 9 PM

• Being Rueben, CW, 9 PM

• Room 104, HBO, 11 PM

• ELeague TBS, 11 PM

Saturday

• Arkansas State vs. Memphis college football, ESPN, 8 PM

• Love Island, CBS, 8 PM

Sunday

• F1 Italian GP, ESPN2, 7:30 AM

• The Circus , Showtime, 8 PM

• Secrets in the Woods, Lifetime, 8 PM

• P-Valley (season finale), Starz, 8 PM

• Top Gear (season premiere), BBC America, 8 PM

• Power Book II: Ghost (series premiere), Starz, 9 PM

• Love Fraud, Showtime, 9 PM

• Love Island, CBS, 9 PM

• Lovecraft Country, HBO, 9 PM

• Naked & Afraid: Foreign Exchange, Discovery, 10 PM

• Uncensored: Larenz Tate (season premiere), TV One, 10 PM

• The Vow, HBO, 10 PM

• We Hunt Together, Showtime, 10 PM

• Desus & Mero, Showtime, 11 PM

All times listed are ET.

via engadget.com

'Pokémon Go' will stop working on old Android and iOS devices in October

An upcoming Pokémon Go update for October could mean you won’t be able to access the game anymore if you’re using an older iPhone or Android device. Niantic has announced that the game will stop supporting devices running Android 5, iOS 10 and iOS 11. For Apple owners, in particular, the game will no longer work on the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6 even if you install iOS 12 on it.

In an upcoming update to Pokémon GO in October, we will end support for Android 5, iOS 10, and iOS 11, as well as iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 devices. Trainers with devices not specifically listed here will not be affected and don’t need to take any action.

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) August 31, 2020

The developer didn’t explain why it’s cutting off the old mobile platforms and phones, but there could be an element in future updates that would prevent the game from running on older devices. As 9to5Mac notes, Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game that’s more technically demanding than non-AR titles. Whatever Niantic’s reason is, it says you won’t be able to access the game, your items or your PokeCoins when the update rolls out in mid-October if you’re using one of the aforementioned platforms and phones. And the company won’t provide support for technical issues if you find a way to keep the game running without upgrading devices or mobile OS.

Niantic has also announced three weeks of Mega Evolution-themed events for September, starting with a Mega Pidgeot event from the 1st through the 7th. That’s followed by raids to unlock Mega Houndoom from September 11th through the 17th and finally by the Mega-Evolution themed Timed Research story event from September 22nd through the 28th.

via engadget.com

Facebook threatens to block all news in Australia

Facebook users in Australia could lose their ability to share news on the social network, the company is warning. The threat is the result of a proposed law from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that would require Facebook and other tech companies to pay publishers for their content. Facebook has maintained that news content “is not a significant source of revenue” and that such a law “ignores the financial value we bring publishers.”

Now, Facebook is making clear what it previously has only hinted at: if the ACCC’s proposal becomes law, it will “reluctantly” shut off the ability for publishers or users to share news in the country. The ban would affect news from local Australian organizations as well as international media, and would impact both Facebook and Instagram. 

In a statement, the company said it has offered up alternatives, such as bringing Facebook News to Australia, but that the proposals “were overlooked.” “We are left with a choice of either removing news entirely or accepting a system that lets publishers charge us for as much content as they want at a price with no clear limits,” the company writes in a blog post. “Unfortunately, no business can operate that way.”

Facebook isn’t the only major tech company to take issue with the proposed law. Google has also been fighting the move. The search giant has previously shut off features in European countries that tried to force it to pay publishers.

via engadget.com

Twitter's 'Quote Tweet' changes make sussing out online drama easier

Twitter's incredibly handy "Retweets with comments" feature is getting a rebranding, as well as becoming a tiny bit more convenient to use.

Earlier this year, Twitter added the option to see retweets that include a comment without having to use an automated account such as @QuotedReplies. Now the feature has been renamed, ditching the descriptive but clunky "Retweets with comments" for the cleaner "Quote Tweets." 

Quote Tweets also appear between the Retweets and Likes on a tweet now, making the feature slightly less annoying to access. Previously, you had to click to see the Retweets, then click "Retweets with comments" from there. Now, you can just jump straight to the drama. Read more...

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TikTok's new commerce integration lets creators start milkin' content for cash

TikTok is making it easier for creators to turn looped video streams into pure American profit. 

The embattled social media company announced Monday that it had entered into a new partnership with the customized online merch platform Teespring. The integration will allow creators to include links to their Teespring products directly in their videos.

TikTokkers with hearty followings already frequently link to personal merchandise stores in their bios. Selling merch like clothing, as well as digital tutorials or templates, is a popular way for independent creators to earn cash from the people who consume their content for free. The new Teespring integration builds on what creators are already doing themselves with an official and more streamlined tool. Read more...

More about Commerce, Tiktok, Tech, Consumer Tech, and Social Media Companies
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Twitter makes sure Quote Tweets are just one click away

Twitter’s ever-evolving approach to conversation on its platform has another tweak, as now you’ll see a Quote Tweet button in between the count of Retweets and Likes when you zoom in on a particular tweet. The standardized quote tweet arrived about five years ago, and has served as a way to highlight other posters you either really agree with or really disagree with.

Twitter

A few months ago Twitter pushed Retweets with Comments into a space along with standard retweets, but this new change makes it more apparent how many there are and puts them one click away instead of two. It first popped up a few weeks ago, and is interestingly timed just after Twitter enabled a feature that let posters limit who is allowed to reply to their tweet.

That feature can help cut down on the amount of time one has to spend dealing with spam replies or irrelevant arguments in a tweet thread, but making Quote Tweets so visible could help undo the convenience quickly.

Tweets about a Tweet add more to the conversation, so we’ve made them even easier to find.

Retweets with comments are now called Quote Tweets and they've joined the Tweet detail view. Tap into a Tweet, then tap "Quote Tweets" to see them all in one place. pic.twitter.com/kMqea6AC80

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) August 31, 2020

via engadget.com

The Razer Blade 15 with a 4K OLED display is $300 off

If you have yet to buy a new laptop for school and always wanted a device that can handle both work and play, you can now grab a powerful machine from Razer for less. The Blade 15 gaming laptop with a 15.6-inch 4K OLED display is $300 off at Best Buy and Razer’s own website, dropping it to $1,999. There are a number of other models of the Blade 15 on sale as well as part of Intel’s Gamer Days event, but you’ll save the most if you opt for the 4K model. We should also mention the sale is only on the mercury white model — the black model is discounted as well, but only by $200.

Buy Blade 15 laptop (4K) at Best Buy - $1,999

Buy Blade 15 laptop (4K) at Razer - $1,999

This gaming laptop has more going for it than just a 4K, 60Hz OLED screen. It runs on a 10th-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with Max-Q. The Blade 15 earned a spot in our gaming laptops buying guide as one of our favorite machines, and aside from the display, those are the specs we recommend on this machine. A 4K display isn’t necessary for most people — nor do you need it to get the most out of this gaming laptop. You could save an extra $100 and opt for the model with a 1080p, 144Hz panel and get the same core experience.

But if having a 4K screen means a lot to you (or you just want to get the most bang for your buck), the model on sale for $1,999 fits the bill. We gave the Blade 15 a score of 89 and praised it in part for having a sleek design that matches the power that its specs provide. Measuring 17mm thick, the Blade 15 is much slimmer than other gaming laptops — its 4.7-pound weigh may deceive it a bit, but its premium design and build quality means that you’ll be able to stick it in a 15-inch laptop bag without trouble. It also has a comfortable keyboard and trackpad and lasts close to nine hours on a single charge (which is more than many gaming laptops can boast).

In addition to its weight, we knocked the Blade 15 for its high price tag but this sale makes it easier to recommend the 4K model. You can also snag Razer peripherals for less during this sale, like the Basilisk wired gaming mouse, which is down from $69 to $49, the BlackWidow Lite tenkeyless keyboard, which is down from $89 to $59 and the Thresher headset — the Xbox version is down from $179 to $109 while the PlayStation/PC equivalent down from $129 to $79.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

via engadget.com

Lenovo’s Legion Slim 7i gaming laptop weighs less than four pounds

As part of its holiday lineup, Lenovo is releasing a new Legion Slim 7i gaming laptop. According to the company, this is the slimmest chassis of any Legion laptop. The Slim 7i weighs in just under four pounds (1.86 kilograms). Like the Legion 5i and 7i laptops, it uses NVIDIA’s Advanced Optimus graphics switching and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q.

Thanks to that Advanced Optimus tech, the Legion Slim 7i can switch back and forth between lower power consumption in less-intensive moments and increased power in GPU-heavy situations. In theory, that should lead to improved battery life and higher frame rates. The built-in Max-Q Dynamic Boost allows the system to shift power from the CPU to GPU during activities like gaming, which may boost performance by up to 10 percent.

The Legion Slim 7i has a 71 WHr battery, which could last up to 7.75 hours and allows rapid charging. To keep the system even chiller, Lenovo made the air intake system 31 percent larger. That means 115 percent more airflow goes to the CPU and GPU compared to previous versions, and there are more exhaust fan blades.

The Legion Slim 7i packs a 10th Gen Intel Core i9 HK-series mobile processor. It comes with up to 2TB of SSD storage, up to 32GB of memory and multiple 15.6-inch screen options. You can choose a 4K display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 600 nits of brightness (ideal for streamers), or a full HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate (better suited for eSports). All of the displays support Dolby Vision, and the Slim 7i has Dolby Atmos immersive sound.

In addition to the Corsair-made RGB lighting on the new TrueStrike keyboard, you’ll notice a fingerprint reader built into the power button and a privacy shutter on the webcam. The laptop is available in slate gray aluminum and starts at $1,329. It should be available this October.

via engadget.com

Google is bringing a kids mode to some Android tablets

Google has been trying to create safe environments for kids on its services, with features such as Family Link parental controls and a section of the Google Play store with teacher-approved apps. It’s building on the likes of those with Kids Space, a mode it’s bringing to some Android tablets.

Google says the idea behind Kids Space is to help them “become explorers of the things they love.” After they select their interests, the mode will showcase things for them to read, play and make. Youngsters can tailor the mode to their identities a bit more by creating a character/avatar.

Google

It looks colorful and easy to navigate. Kids will find a growing library of books and apps in the Read and Play tabs. Google is working with publishers to open up access to books, and children in the US will be able to read more than 400 books for free in Kids Space.

The Watch and Make tabs include videos from YouTube Kids that Google says are “engaging and encourage off-screen activities.” If all of that’s not quite enough, parents can download more things for their kids to check out from Google Play.

The first tablet that'll include the mode is the new Lenovo Tab M10 HD Gen 2. It has a 10.1-inch HD wide-viewing-angle screen and dual Dolby Atmos speakers. The tablet starts at $129.99 and it should be available sometime next month.

Kids Space will be available on other Android tablets soon. Other companies have tried tablet experiences tailored to kids, with Amazon among the most notable examples.

via engadget.com

Lenovo is giving premium Android tablets another go

One of the devices Lenovo has announced today is a premium Android tablet that the company says is its most powerful one yet. The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro has an 11.5-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. While Lenovo presents it as a device meant for “productivity on the go,” it’s powered by one of the gaming chips Qualcomm launched last year: the Snapdragon 730G mobile platform.

The chip, along with the Snapdragon 730 and 665, was one of the mobile CPUs the company released in 2019. All three promise flagship features at lower prices. The Snapdragon 730G’s power efficiency feature gives the Tab P11 Pro 15 hours of battery life on a single charge, though how long it lasts would of course depend on how you use it.

Lenovo’s new pro tablet will come with an optional keyboard and pen, as well as Microsoft Office apps. It also has four JBL speakers optimized by Dolby Atmos, as well as smart algorithms for user-facing cinematic surround sound, which you may appreciate if you use the tablet to stream shows or music. Other features include face unlock and background blurring on video calls for privacy — the latter sounds especially useful now that a lot of people are working from home and hopping on video conferences more frequently.

The company has also introduced a new family tablet called the Tab M10 HD Gen 2, which will serve as the debut device for Kids Space. That’s that new kids mode Google designed for devices with Android 10 and higher. Kids Space will recommend underage users various apps, books and videos based on the interests they choose. Its Play and Read tabs will list teacher-approved apps and (free) popular children’s books, while its Watch and Make tabs will show fun videos from YouTube Kids. The tablet will also come with Google’s Family Link parental controls.

The Lenovo Tab M10 HD Gen 2 will be available this September with prices starting at $130. Meanwhile, the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro will drop in November with prices starting at $499.

via engadget.com

Motorola's latest mid-range phone is a sub-$500 stunner with 5G

Motorola has been on a tear this year: It has announced or released more than ten new smartphones in 2020, and rumor has it there's at least one more big reveal coming soon. For what it's worth though, the brand's latest mid-range offering the -- Motorola One 5G -- might be its most appealing new release yet. It's not a flagship in the vein of the Edge Plus, or the continuation of an experiment like the Razr. Instead, it's a sub-$500 smartphone running a mostly clean flavor of Android 10 with a handful of unexpected features and an enormous battery. In other words, it's exactly the kind of introduction to 5G that Motorola's cost-conscious fans probably need.

There's just one catch, though. Motorola promised earlier this year it would release a 5G smartphone for under $500, and, well, you're looking at it. For now, though, the company declined to say how much less than $500 the One 5G will cost -- the most Motorola would say is that the phone will wind up on AT&T soon, and that a Verizon-friendly model with support for mmWave 5G is set to land in October. In other words, stay tuned for official pricing.

Now, onto the phone itself. Many mid-range 5G smartphones use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 and the Motorola One 5G is no exception -- it's paired here with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, though you can add microSD cards as large as 1TB. (A quick aside: We usually see this chipset in slightly more expensive phones, but Qualcomm apparently slashed its prices earlier this year.) While Motorola's choice of chipset isn't much of a surprise, the rest of the stuff around it is: The phone features, among other things, a whopper of a 6.7-inch Full HD+ screen complete with HDR10+ certification and a 90Hz refresh rate. That means this display is just as big and runs just as smoothly as Motorola's flagship Endless Edge display; here's hoping its tall, 21:9 aspect ratio means regular people have a chance of wrapping their hands around this thing.

Powering the whole shebang is a 5,000mAh battery, which we're hoping to see multi-day use from since it's paired with a chipset that sips power rather than gulps it. Meanwhile, around back sits a quartet of cameras: You'll spend most of your time shooting with the main, 48-megapixel wide sensor, but it's flanked by a 2-megapixel depth sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 118-degree field of view and a curious 5-megapixel macro camera for extreme close-ups. Now, the jury is still out on whether people are really clamoring for this kind of highly specialized sensor, but Motorola gets credit for sweetening the deal in an unusual way -- it gave that macro camera a tiny, proper ring light. (And in case you were wondering, no, you cannot use it as a more appealing kind of flash for the other cameras.)

The front-facing camera situation is similarly surprising, since Motorola saw fit to add two of them here. The first is a relatively straightforward 16-megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture, and you can count on this one to deliver the stronger selfies. The other camera, meanwhile, is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide that Motorola says can squeeze an extra three or four people into the frame at once. Throw in a side-mounted fingerprint reader, a headphone jack and NFC for all those COVID-era contactless payments, and it feels like we're looking at a phone that could give Google's new, cheap Pixels a real fight in the looming 5G mid-range smartphone war.

Of course, there is too often a gap between a phone's potential on paper and its performance in the real world. Motorola is eyeing an imminent launch so, stay tuned to see how its unusually appealing new phone stacks up against the competition.

via engadget.com

Lenovo's new $50 smart clock keeps things stupid simple

Facebook and Instagram reveal content ‘recommendation guidelines’

Facebook and Instagram are trying to peel back the curtain on what has long been one of the least understood parts of its platform: how it recommends content users don’t already follow. Today, the company published its “recommendation guidelines” for both Facebook and Instagram.

The guidelines are essentially Facebook’s internal rulebook for determining what type of content is “eligible” to appear prominently in the app, such as in Instagram’s Explore section or in Facebook’s recommendations for groups or events. The suggestions are algorithmically generated and have been a source of speculation and scrutiny. 

Notably, the guidelines shared today don’t shed much light on how Facebook determines its recommendations. In a statement, Facebook’s Guy Rosen notes suggestions are personalized “based on content you’ve expressed interest in and actions you take on our apps,” but doesn’t offer specifics. What the guidelines do detail is the type of content Facebook blocks from recommendations throughout its platform.

Specifically, the posts list five categories of content that “may not be eligible for recommendations.” This includes borderline content that doesn’t break the company rules, but that Facebook considers objectionable, such as “pictures of people in see-through clothing;” spammy content, like clickbait; posts “associated with low-quality publishing;” and posts that have been debunked by fact checkers. 

Though the rules themselves aren’t new  — Facebook says it’s been using the guidelines since 2016 — it’s the first time the company has made these policies visible to users. 

It may also help Facebook address criticism as the social network has come under increasing scrutiny for its algorithmically generated recommendations. The suggestions have been widely criticized for leading people to conspiracy theories or extremist content they may not otherwise go searching for. People who follow anti-vaccine pages on Instagram, for example, may also see recommendations for QAnon accounts and conspiracy theories about  COVID-19. (Facebook’s guidelines confirm that vaccine misinformation and QAnon are both considered ineligible for recommendations.) 

At the same time, users have long accused Facebook of censorship and “shadow bans,” the idea that the company hides some content for real or perceived infractions. By opening up these guidelines, it will at least be more clear why not all posts make it onto Instagram’s Explore section, for example. 

via engadget.com

Lenovo's latest flagship Yoga laptops are clad in leather

It's almost impossible to avoid triggering content on TikTok

Mashable’s series Algorithms explores the mysterious lines of code that increasingly control our lives — and our futures. 

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TikTok's algorithm is almost too good at suggesting relatable content — to the point of being detrimental for some users' mental health. 

It's nearly impossible to avoid triggering content on TikTok, and because of the nature of the app's never-ending For You Page, users can easily end up trapped scrolling through suggested content curated for their specific triggers. 

Videos glorifying disordered eating, for example, are thriving on TikTok. The tag #flatstomach has 44.2 million views. The tags #proana and #thinsp0, short for pro-anorexia and thin inspiration, have 2.1 million views and 446,000 views, respectively. As senior editor Rachel Charlene Lewis wrote in Bitch, pro-ana culture and the internet intertwined long before TikTok's ubiquity on teenagers' phones. During the early days of social media, young people used forums and message boards to track their weight loss and swap diet tips. In the early 2010s, eating disorder blogs glorifying sharp collarbones and waifish ribcages flourished on Tumblr. Read more...

More about Mental Health, Algorithms, Tiktok, Culture, and Web Culture
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Motorola One 5G brings quadruple rear cameras and 5G support for less than $500

Folks who are curious about this whole "5G" thing but don't want to take out a loan to get in on it got some good news from Motorola Monday.

The Illinois-based tech giant just announced that the Motorola One 5G will launch in the United States later this year for less than $500. 

Motorola didn't share an exact price, but promised it would launch below that threshold. The device will be available on AT&T "soon", the company says, and on Verizon in early October.

It's the newest in a nascent, but noteworthy, market for mid-range 5G smartphones, alongside the $600 Samsung Galaxy A71 5G and the $500 Google Pixel 4a 5G, which is set to launch later this year, as well. Read more...

More about Motorola, 5g, Motorola One 5g, Tech, and Consumer Tech
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Watch John Oliver's stark, furious breakdown of the links between the RNC and Kenosha violence

John Oliver often spends a good chunk of Last Week Tonight's runtime taking a deep dive into a single issue that's making the news, or should be but isn't. On Sunday night, he dove right into a week that was very unusual, even by his standards.

"It's one of the rare times we're actually living up to our show's title, and like, why did you probably be called 28 Minutes On The Corn Tax Or Whatever The Fuck With John Oliver," he said. "And the reason we're doing that is that this has been one hell of a week."

Oliver then drew a line between the rhetoric and outright lies sprayed at serious volume at the Republican National Convention last week and the protests and then violence that erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin almost simultaneously following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man. Specifically, the fact that the McCloskeys, a couple who went viral after they pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their St Louis home, were invited to speak at the RNC, then used their time to repeat the false, racist dog-whistle line about Democrats wanting to "abolish the suburbs". Read more...

More about John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, Republican National Convention, Kenosha Shooting, and Culture

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Netflix offers a collection of original movies and shows for free

Over the last year, Netflix has faced increasing competition from streaming newcomers like Disney+, so the company is taking the somewhat surprising step of giving away some original content for free. Starting today, you can visit a “watch free” page without logging in to Netflix to watch shows and movies including Bird Box, Stranger Things, Grace and Frankie, The Two Popes and a handful of others.

In the past, Netflix has occasionally offered a movie or show for free as a preview — the hit rom-com To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was available to anyone for about a month, and more recently the company put a bunch of documentaries out for free on its YouTube channel for educators and students. But this is one of the larger-scale releases of its content we’ve seen.

It’s worth noting that only the first episode of shows are available, so you won’t be able to binge-watch the first season of Stranger Things, but there’s enough high-profile material on this page to get people started. If you want to check it out, you’ll only be able to watch it in a browser on a computer or on an Android phone. The free material isn’t available through the Netflix mobile apps, and it doesn’t work on the iPhone’s browser either. But you can’t argue with the price.

via engadget.com

Edison's new email app lets you block senders before they hit your inbox

Edison Software, the company behind the popular Edison email app (that recently suffered from a serious security bug) has unveiled a new privacy-focused email app called Onmail. Arriving in a public beta, it includes features that allow you to cut off senders before they even get to your inbox and stop obnoxious email behavior targeting.

The two headline features are “accept sender” and anti-tracking technology. The first (shown above) displays a list of potential senders and allows you to accept or block them before the messages even hit your inbox. (It also includes unsubscribe and block sender features for any undesirable emails that do get through.)

Meanwhile, the anti-tracking tech will “automatically block all read receipts from ad targeters attempting to monitor your email behavior,” according to Edison. Other features include large attachments starting at 100MB and ranging up to 5GB in size, or “200 times more” than what other services offer. You also get a free domain for a custom email address, split inbox, search and an AI-based assistant that can categorize emails and automatically nudge you to reply.

While Onmail aims to be a privacy oriented email system, Edison’s current iOS app recently deprived some users of their privacy in a spectacular fashion. It suffered from a bug that allowed users to access the inboxes of complete strangers and read their emails without credentials. Edison said the “technical problem” affected a small number of users and quickly reverted the app to an earlier version.

Onmail will be simple and “exceptionally fast,” according to Edison, while coming in a free personal version or three business subscription plans ranging from $5 to $20 per month. The beta is now open and you can try it out here.

via engadget.com

The Morning After: A Toyota-backed flying car completes piloted test-flight

SkyDrive is yet another flying car startup, but one that has the backing of auto giant Toyota. That means we kinda have to pay attention. Fortunately, we did: SkyDrive finally achieved the first public crewed test flight for its flying car prototype, the SD-03. A pilot flew the vehicle around the Toyota Test Field in the city of Toyota, Japan.

The SD-03 itself is also interesting, billed as the smallest electric VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicle in the world. Despite its size, it has eight rotors that help it fly safely even if there’s a motor failure, meaning even if not all of them work, you should be OK.

According to reports, SkyDrive hopes to grab approval for flights beyond the test field by the end of the year, and it expects a two-seat commercial machine by 2023. While it’ll miss the rescheduled Olympics, it does line up with Japan’s flying taxi service timeline, also known as The Future. 

— Mat

Twitter: Chadwick Boseman's final post is most liked tweet ever

The actor passed away over the weekend.

Twitter has a new record for the most liked tweet. It confirmed that the late Chadwick Boseman’s last post, the news of his death by his family, is the “most liked tweet ever.” Boseman died of colon cancer at 43 on August 28th, after a four-year fight against the disease. His obituary post had 7.7 million likes as of the afternoon of August 29th, but that appears to have dipped to 7.3 million. It has been retweeted 3.1 million times.
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Apple's next entry-level iPad might look a lot like an iPad Pro

It could have Face ID and Magic Keyboard support.

The team at 91mobiles has revealed what it says are design schematics for an updated  affordable iPad. If accurate, the new device would look like a cut-down iPad Pro with similarly slim bezels and a boxier design. The design suggests Face ID instead of Touch ID (no button here), and a Smart Connector hints at possible Magic Keyboard support.
Continue reading.

Watch a rocket launch, aborted at the last moment

The team had even declared 'liftoff.'

For an aborted rocket launch, United Launch Alliance’s latest was... dramatic. The spaceflight outfit had to abort its NROL-44 mission a mere three seconds before it was due to start, with the Delta IV rocket’s initiators already covering the vehicle in flames — the crew even declared “liftoff” without realizing the mission had been cut short.

ULA’s rocket was carrying a secret National Reconnaissance Office payload believed to be a signal intelligence satellite. It’s still not clear what the problem was, and it will take at least a full week before ULA can attempt another launch. Continue reading.

Apple resurrects its iPod 'Music Quiz' game for iOS 14

It didn't even need to create an app to do it.

Apple is bringing back one of its iPod games — even if no-one asked it to. 9to5Mac has discovered that iOS 14 brings back Apple’s Music Quiz game, where your device plays songs at random and asks you to name them and rack up a score. In short: You’ll mess up because of the album tracks. The entire game runs as a Shortcut under the My Shortcuts section.

Don’t worry, there’s some new high-tech innovation, too: You can now share your score on social networks. Oh boy! Continue reading.

But wait, there’s more...

What you need to know about Apple's iPhone 12 and 12 Pro

Instant Pot's WiFi-connected pressure cooker drops to $80 at Best Buy

How to buy a gaming laptop

Someone squeezed a Nintendo Wii into a Game Boy Color-like case

via engadget.com

Algorithms control your online life. Here's how to reduce their influence.

Mashable's series Algorithms explores the mysterious lines of code that increasingly control our lives — and our futures.

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The world in 2020 has been given plenty of reasons to be wary of algorithms. Depending on the result of the U.S. presidential election, it may give us one more. Either way, it's high time we questioned the impact of these high-tech data-driven calculations, which increasingly determine who or what we see (and what we don't) online. 

The impact of algorithms is starting to scale up to a dizzying degree, and literally billions of people are feeling the ripple effects. This is the year the Social Credit System, an ominous Black Mirror-like "behavior score" run by the Chinese government, is set to officially launchIt may not be quite as bad as you've heard, but it will boost or tighten financial credit and other incentives for the entire population. There's another billion unexamined, unimpeachable algorithms hanging over a billion human lives.    Read more...

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Get 10TB of cloud storage for *life* for just $149

TL;DR: Get enough space for all your files and never worry about losing them with the Degoo Premium: Lifetime 10TB Backup Plan for $149, a 95% savings as of Aug. 31. No monthly fees involved!

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The only thing worse than losing all of your precious photos, videos, and files from over the years is knowing it could've been prevented. If you only store your stuff on your computer or smartphone, you can easily lose it all forever with no way of recovery – whether from a crash, a failed software update, theft, or just a freak accident. In other words: you need a backup. 

You could invest in an external hard drive, but you'll still have to remember to plug it in to back up your documents and photos. And if you drop it, bad things could happen. A more convenient and practically mindless solution is cloud storage. There are a variety of options on the market, like Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive, which offer free versions of their basic subscriptions. But these are made for people who only need a small amount of storage — not those who want to back up all those concert videos from over the years and relive them in isolation. For more storage, you'll likely pay a hefty fee month after month. Read more...

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Get lifetime access to over 20K customizable icons for any type of project

TL;DR: Get a lifetime subscription to the Flat Icons bundle for $29.99, a 99% savings as of Aug. 31. 

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Visual content is just as (if not more) important than written content — especially if you're trying to build a brand. Humans can process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, for instance. So, whether you're creating digital marketing tools or building a website, you need to put some extra emphasis on design.

Of course, outsourcing the design process to get eye-catching assets can be extremely expensive and time-consuming. That's where a subscription to Flat Icons can really come in handy, and lucky for you, a lifetime subscription is on sale for just under $30 for a limited time. Read more...

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SpaceX makes first polar orbit launch from Florida in 'decades'

While SpaceX didn’t pull off a doubleheader Sunday launch like it planned, the company still managed a rare feat. Instead of launching eastward like every other Cape Canaveral rocket, the Falcon 9 headed south toward Cuba, close to populated areas on Florida’s coast (via The Verge). The “SAOCOM 1B” mission marks the first such “polar launch” from Florida since 1969, made possible by a special Air Force exemption for SpaceX.

Satellites bound for polar orbits (where a satellite passes over both the North and South Poles), usually launch from Vandenberg Air Force base in California. That way, they can head due south directly over the ocean without passing over any populated areas. By contrast, flights from Florida always head east over open seas, as southbound flights have been off-limits due to the presence of cities like West Palm Beach below.

However, due to wildfire dangers near Vandenberg, the Air Force decided to allow SpaceX — and only SpaceX — to launch south from Florida. It made the exception because the Falcon 9 has an automatic flight safety system that can destroy the rocket it it has an anomaly or goes off its intended path. It’s critical that the rocket can make that decision without human intervention, because the rocket engine blast can interfere with self-destruct commands from the ground.

The key danger point for SpaceX was shortly after take off as the Falcon 9 skirted the Florida coast. The first stage dropped before the rocket arrived over Cuba, and after that, it was high enough not to threaten the island.

While only SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has the exemption for now, existing and upcoming rockets like the United Launch Alliance Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy will all eventually be equipped with automated self-destruct systems. At that point, they’ll all be allowed to fly south from Cape Canaveral as well.

The SAOCOM 1B satellite launched by Argentina’s space agency will follow a sun-synchronous orbit that will allow it to monitor spots on Earth at the same time each day. It’ll use radar to monitor Earth for disasters that could affect its agricultural, mining and other industries. The Falcon 9’s stage one rocket used in the launch has now flown four times in total — and will fly again, thanks to another successful ground landing near the launch pad.

via engadget.com

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket makes a successful return to flight

Rocket Lab has made a successful return to flight following a failure last month. The company’s Electron rocket launched a 100 kg (220 pound) Earth observation satellite from its facility on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand at 11:05 PM EDT on August 30th. That marks the first flight since the company’s failed launch on July 4th, when it lost seven satellites including one from Canon.

The earlier failure was caused by a single faulty electrical connection that ultimately led to the engine’s shutdown a few minutes into the second stage burn. Rocket Lab was able to “reliably replicate” the issue and determined how to avoid a similar problem in future launches.

The Electron booster’s payload was the “Sequoia” satellite from San Francisco-based Capella Space. The mission was called “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical,” because the satellite uses synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and not optical lenses to provide detailed Earth images. “Capella's space-based radar can detect sub-0.5 meter changes on the surface of the Earth, providing insights and data that can be used for security, agricultural and infrastructure monitoring, as well as disaster response and recovery,” Rocket Lab wrote.

The mission is the 14th successful launch for Rocket Lab. Prior to the July 4th failure, the company had made 11 consecutive successful launches.

via engadget.com

Uncle Roger hilariously takes on Jamie Oliver's 'disgusting' egg fried rice

YouTuber Uncle Roger went viral last month after reacting to BBC presenter Hersha Patel's deeply upsetting rendition of egg fried rice — a dish so disturbing it made him put leg down from chair. Now he's back again, this time offering commentary on Jamie Oliver's version on the dish. Unfortunately, it seems Oliver is also an advocate for draining rice.

"This video, so many sad thing happening," despairs Uncle Roger, speaking on behalf of Asians everywhere. "I don't know if Uncle Roger can go on. This depression is too much."

You'd think that, considering Oliver is a world-renowned celebrity chef, things might have gone a bit better than they did with Patel. They did not. The 10-minute video is a fiasco from start to finish, from Oliver's choice of pan, to oil, to his deeply cursed inclusion of a blob of chilli jam. It's absolutely wild. Read more...

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First trailer for 'The Stand' teases the pandemic apocalypse, Stephen King style

CBS All Access just released the first teaser for 10-part miniseries The Stand, based on the post-apocalyptic fantasy novel by Stephen King. In The Stand, groups with opposing ideas of what society should be clash in the wake of a deadly pandemic, leading to significant repercussions for humanity's future. The book was originally released in 1978, but its themes are unsettlingly relevant to 2020.

The Stand's 30-second trailer doesn't give away much, mainly featuring people wandering eerily abandoned streets or experiencing emotional distress. We do get a good look at Whoopi Goldberg as spiritual leader Abagail Freemantle though, as well as Alexander Skarsgård's supernaturally powered Randall Flagg. Read more...

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Lady Gaga showed up to the VMAs in all the most Lady Gaga face masks possible

Face masks are a crucial weapon in the fight against the spread of coronavirus. But if you're Lady Gaga, they're also a weapon in the fight against being boring.

You didn't think Mother Monster was going to come to the MTV Video Music Awards to serve you a plain square of fabric, did you?

No, Ms Stefani Germanotta came prepared. She stepped out onto the VMAs' distanced drive-in stage to accept Artist of the Year, Collaboration of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rain On Me" with Ariana Grande, and the first-ever Tricon Award, whatever that was. And she had a fresh and wildly extra outfit each time, and an extra mask to match. Read more...

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BTS lit up the MTV VMAs with their debut performance of 'Dynamite'

It is the Bangtan Boys’ world, and we are just living in it. 

Global superstars BTS delivered their first ever live performance of "Dynamite" at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, debuting the full choreography of their brand new English track. Rocking ‘70s retro-styled suits and a bright, disco vibe, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook's first ever VMAs performance was a burst of bubbly, goofy brightness.

BTS picked up the VMA award for Best Group earlier in the night, as well as the award for Best K-Pop Video for "On" — a category which was only established last year, and which they also won with "Boy with Luv." The group also nabbed Best Pop Video after their performance and are nominated for Best Choreography, which hasn't yet been announced. Read more...

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Amazon adds 1,800 electric delivery vans — this time from Mercedes

It's not 100,000 electric delivery vans from new car company Rivian, but Amazon is adding nearly 2,000 new Mercedes vans to its fleet. Instead of diesel or gas-powered vans, however, every vehicle making Amazon deliveries from the German carmaker will be fully electric.

Amazon recently announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to incorporate 1,800 new delivery vans into its delivery service across Europe by the end of 2020. Those vans include 1,200 eSprinter vans and 600 eVito vans. 

The electric Sprinter van is the newest commercial electric vehicle from Mercedes and is a bigger version of its eVito van, which has 93-mile range. Rivian's e-vans are supposed to start delivering for Amazon in 2021. Its first two vehicles, an electric pickup truck and SUV with 400-mile range, still haven't arrived yet. Read more...

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Apple resurrects its iPod 'Music Quiz' game for iOS 14

Apple is still feeling nostalgic for iPod games, it seems. The 9to5Mac team has discovered that iOS 14 brings back the classic Music Quiz game, where your device plays songs at random and asks you to name them and rack up a score. The company didn’t even need an app to do it — the entire game runs as a Shortcut under the “My Shortcuts” section.

Each session only lasts five rounds, but you can keep playing and share your score on social networks — something you couldn’t do on your iPod near the start of the century.

This only works with the built-in Music app. Sorry, Spotify fans. It does work with Apple Music, iTunes purchases and even locally synced songs from other sources, though. And since it’s a Shortcut rather than an app, you can easily poke around to either get inspiration for your own mini-games or modify Music Quiz to suit your tastes.

This is clearly a promo tool for Shortcuts to encourage use. At the same time, it’s hard to deny the retro appeal if you grew up using Apple’s music players. When Apple dropped classic iPods, it also ditched a slew of games that some users knew very well. While we wouldn’t call this a full-on revival, it does give you a chance to relive the iPod’s glory days.

via engadget.com