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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This year’s first Direct will take place Wednesday morning at 9AM ET, and, according to Nintendo, the 25-minute presentation will feature Switch games “coming in the first half of 2024 from our publishing and development partners.”
We didn’t need to consult the video game oracles to know a Nintendo Direct was on the way. Not only have Microsoft and PlayStation shared their upcoming release schedules, but taking a look at the dates o

Getting water on phones happens to the best of us. Lucky for us, there’s one household staple the internet consistently suggests will draw that liquid out and save phones: uncooked rice. But contrary to popular advice, Apple, like most people in tech support, explicitly advises against putting your wet phone in a bag of rice.“Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone,” Apple support documents said.
The supp

Where my bitches at? No, but seriously – where the heck are they at? Long an essential ingredient in the frothy mocktail of the teen high school movie, the mean girls of movies like Heathers and the original Mean Girls were an over-the-top celebration of bitchery. ("Boo, you whore," is one of Mean Girls' most lasting gifts to pop culture for a reason.) That unrepentant vibe was as vital to the formula's successful recipe as its iconic costumes, cute dumb boys, and killer needle drops.But t

The U.S. isn't the only place that has problems with TikTok.In a Monday press release, the European Commission (the EU's executive branch) announced a formal probe into TikTok's compliance (or lack thereof) with the Digital Services Act. The act, which was approved late last year and went into effect on Jan. 1, exists to legislate against things like illegal content, disinformation, and targeted advertising.SEE ALSO:Is the meet cute dead? TikTok has thoughts.
The press release includes a handy b

Image: Wyze Wyze’s problems with letting its security camera customers briefly see into other customer homes is a lot worse than we thought.Last week, co-founder David Crosby said that “so far” the company had identified 14 people who were able to briefly see into a stranger’s property because they were shown an image from someone else’s Wyze camera. Now we’re being told that number of affected customers has ballooned to 13,000.
The revelation came from an ema

Image: Apple Slowly but surely, Apple TV Plus has morphed itself into arguably the premier destination for streaming science fiction. (Or at least streaming sci-fi not named Star Wars or Star Trek.) There are adaptations like Silo and Foundation; original stories like Invasion, For All Mankind, and Severance; and even a franchise spinoff with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. There’s a nice range to the service’s offerings — and now it’s adding another flavor with the premiere

In 1965, cryogenics pioneer Olli V. Lounasmaa set up the Low Temperature Laboratory (LTL) at what is now Aalto University to research ultra-low temperature physics. Despite some initial scepticism because “why would anyone want to research cold in Finland,” the LTL has prospered, attracting researchers from all over the world — and laying the foundation for Finland’s leading quantum computing startup ecosystem.  Quantum computing has long been the stuff of dreams. A

If you're watching True Detective: Night Country, chances are you've been glued to the screen scanning for clues like we are. And that means you're onto the spirals.In the fourth season of the HBO series, this time helmed by showrunner Issa López, police chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and state trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) can't stop finding these symbols in their investigation. SEE ALSO:'True Detective: Night County's Isabella Star LaBlanc and Anna Lambe on Indigenous represe

Lost called, it wants its polar bear back.One of the many mysteries of True Detective: Night Country is embodied by one of the cutest and deadliest animals on the planet: the majestic and terrifying polar bear. In the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle, during "the long night", this enormous pagophilic carnivore turns up again and again. It wanders through town in very real form; it appears in characters' homes in plush toy form; images of it flash at us during

Are you watching True Detective: Night Country and have a lot of questions? You're in good, obsessive company if you're scanning for clues like we are.In the depths of this cold, cold winter, Mashable has been spending "the long night" yarn-walling it, speaking to the folks behind the HBO show, and watching the series frame by frame so you don't miss a spiral, polar bear, John Carpenter reference, or confirmed fan theory. SEE ALSO:'True Detective: Night Country' review: A can't-miss mystery with

After arriving with a dog in tow, BAFTAs 2024 host David Tennant gave a six-minute monologue cracking jokes about Saltburn, the acting industry, and the upcoming presidential race."It's obviously been a tumultuous year for so many in the film industry with the writers' strike and the actors' strike, but I've been chatting to BAFTA and asking, 'Is the future for screenwriters and actors looking rosy?'" Tennant says in the clip above. "And I can tell you, they said 'Aye!' Although they do spell th

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections &mdas

A satellite will hurtle down to Earth this week and no one knows quite when or where it’s going to land — but there’s no need to worry. In the space sector, this is standard operating procedure.  The satellite in question is the European Space Agency’s ERS-2. Launched in 1995, the spacecraft set new standards for Earth observation. It was also an extremely durable machine. Despite an original mission life of just three years, ERS-2 made it to the ripe old age o

Apple is facing a first-ever fine, which Brussels is set to announce next month. The company will reportedly be fined around €500 million ($539m) for allegedly breaking EU law. This follows a European Commission antitrust probe looking into whether or not the tech giant used its platform to favor its music streaming service over others. The investigation was launched in 2019, after Spotify made a formal complaint to regulators that the App Store prevents users from seeing cheaper alternativ

David Tennant made a dramatic entrance to the BAFTAs on Sunday night, and he came armed with Michael Sheen's dog.In the amusing open sketch above, the Doctor Who star and host of the awards show takes a series of Zoom calls with different celebrities – including Tom Hiddleston and Dame Judy Dench – in an attempt to persuade them to look after Sheen's dog, after his Good Omens co-star forced him to keep a previously arranged dog-sitting commitment.In the end, when nobody can help, the

TL;DR: As of February 19, get these Mini Dual Tube Digital Night Vision Binoculars with 1080p HD Recording for $99.99 — that's a savings of 37%.Technological advances touch almost everything. And these modern digital binoculars prove that point. With a slew of great features, binoculars aren't just an old-timey product that people use to look at birds when they retire. And it's on sale for just $99.99 (reg. $159).A great option for the non-retired or retired nature lover, you will get a 10

TL;DR: As of February 19, get a refurbished Apple iPad Pro for only $269.99 — you'll save 28%.It can be difficult to accept the realization that you need to dip into your savings to buy a new device. Whether you need your first tablet for a new job or your old one went kaput, it's a significant purchase to make. That's why refurbished devices are a terrific option if you want to spend as little as possible and also get a machine that runs well. This refurbished 9.7-inch iPad Pro with acces

TL;DR: Score lifetime access to Babbel Language Learning on sale for $149.97. This price drop lasts only 24 hours — it ends on February 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT.Whether you want to learn another language for fun or professional reasons, the benefits of being bilingual are plenty. It could make a huge difference in your international travels, it can help you advance your career with a new skill on your resume, or it can just help you become a more well-rounded individual who can communicate with

TL;DR: As of February 19, get these two 4K camera drones for $144.99 — a savings of 63%. If you've always wanted to try flying a drone, this combo could be a great opportunity to get into it, and even grab a friend to participate with you. This offer gets you two user-friendly drones for the price of one, just $144.99.The Alpha Z Pro and Flying Fox have a lot in common. Both have a 4K front camera and a 720p camera on the bottom for quality images. They also have thoughtful features such a

The European Union is set to fine Apple €500mn for allegedly elbowing out competitors to its music streaming business, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.   EU officials first started investigating the matter in 2019, following a complaint for Spotify. The Swedish company claimed it was made to ramp up its monthly subscription to cover the 30% fee Apple charges to operate on its App Store. This would force it to charge more for

It's been weeks since the stunning first episode of HBO's True Detective: Night Country, helmed by showrunner Issa López. That's when we first saw the scientists at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station ditch Ferris Bueller's Day Off, run out into the snow, and freeze into a horrific corpsicle on the Alaskan tundra. But how did they get there? What or who scared them enough to find themselves in such an end? Police Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and state trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali R

HBO's True Detective: Night Country has run its chilling course, treading the line between cold, hard reality and the supernatural. And it's here, clambering out of Alaska's long night, that we have one lingering question about state trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis): What exactly went down out there on the ice? In the eighth and last episode of the series, Navarro has a deeply spiritual experience outside the Tsalal Arctic Research Station, after she disappears into a storm. What actually

True Detective: Night Country has been a season packed full of mysteries, and the finale finally got to the heart of some of our most burning questions.But there were also a few left up to interpretation. State trooper Evangeline Navarro's (Kali Reiss) fate was one of the biggest, but there was something else you may have missed amongst the chaos: the possibility of time travel.Was it simply another vision, though, or something more? Let's break down exactly what happened, and what it might mean

True Detective has always been a show full of strange symbols and half-hidden clues, and Night Country is no exception.Putting aside the spirals and the Lost-style polar bear sightings, though, there's that Billie Eilish-backed opening sequence. As always with Nic Pizzolatto's show, the opener features a jumble of imagery that's relevant to the series, this time themed around an appropriately dark and snowy drive along a rural road as Eilish's 2019 atmospheric hit "bury a friend" plays.SEE ALSO:

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for Feb. 19's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.Where did Wordle come from?Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to b

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for February 19's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself,

First it was the Golden Globes, then it was the Critics' Choice Awards. Now it's Britain's turn to celebrate the film industry, with the 77th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) held in London this Sunday.Hosted by the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor David Tennant, the 2024 BAFTAs took place at the Royal Festival Hall. Leading both the nominee and winners' lists was Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which scooped up seven of the 13 awards it was up for — including Best Film and Best Director.