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Disney+ and Hulu are getting even more expensive (again)
Disney has announced the fourth price increase in four years across its streaming services, effective immediately. Disney+ ad-free subscriptions will rise to $21.50 per month, a 13 per cent increase, whilst the Disney+ and Hulu combined ad-free bundle will cost $22 per month. Ad-supported versions are also increasing, with Disney+ with ads rising to $12.50…
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Owners mourn spoiled food after firmware update bricks Samsung smart fridges
A Samsung firmware update left some Bespoke AI smart fridges in South Korea unusable, with affected appliances losing power, freezing on an update message or appearing offline in the SmartThings app. The incident matters because many owners reportedly lost refrigerated food just before Chuseok, a major holiday, while some faced delays in getting repairs. Most…
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Heir to ‘McMansion’ fortune drove truck over tourist sunbathing on idyllic Hamptons beach, claims $7m lawsuit
Jack Farrell, 21, the son of Hamptons developer Joe Farrell, is facing a $7 million lawsuit alleging that he drove a pickup truck over Spanish tourist Pablo Ibanez Fernandez on a Bridgehampton beach in August. The lawsuit, filed by Pablo and his brother Alberto, also names Farrell Building and claims the incident caused serious injuries,…
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Logitech Releases Blue Yeti 2 With Automatic Audio Tuning Based on Proximity
Logitech has released the Blue Yeti 2, a modernised successor to its enduring Blue Yeti USB microphone that first launched in 2009. The new model introduces a 3D proximity sensor and AI-powered noise reduction to automatically adjust audio levels and quality as users move, potentially making the microphone more accessible to those who prefer not…
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Former NASA chief sounds alarm on China’s lunar “exploration” plans
In a forthcoming memoir, Bill Nelson, former NASA administrator from 2021 to 2025, has issued a stark warning about China’s lunar ambitions and argues that the United States must do all it can to maintain space leadership. Nelson characterises the competition with China as the defining contest of the twenty-first century, comparing its stakes to…
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Arc Raiders’ New Machine-Learning Enemy Looks Absolutely Terrifying
Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders is receiving its largest update to date, Frozen Trail, which launches on 8 October and introduces a new machine-learning-powered enemy called the Bully. This follows the game’s existing ML-enabled enemy, the Leaper, and represents the studio’s ongoing experiment with machine learning as a game design tool to create dynamic, unpredictable combat…
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Arc Raiders’ Frozen Trail becomes biggest update on 8 October
Arc Raiders’ Frozen Trail update, launching on 8 October, will be the game’s largest yet, adding substantial new content after Embark Studios paused monthly updates in May. The move follows a slowdown in the extraction shooter’s popularity, although it retains a consistent player base, and is intended to re-energise the game with new challenges and…
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Prime Video’s NASA Limited Series ‘The Challenger’ Adds Six To Cast
Prime Video’s limited series “The Challenger” has expanded its cast with six recurring actors playing key figures in the true story of the 1986 NASA Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The ensemble includes William Fichtner as Nobel physicist Richard Feynman, Kevin Carroll as physicist Professor Arthur Walker, Eric Lange as General Donald Kutyna, Adelaide Clemens as…
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Discord rolls out algorithmic age checks after months of delays
Discord is introducing an age-verification system after delaying it for more than six months amid user opposition. Its algorithms will estimate whether accounts belong to adults or children, while Discord says more than 90% of users will not need to confirm their age and that messages and voice calls will not be analysed. The system…
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Dementia traps family savings as London transport stalls
Grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis has trapped £20,000 in children’s savings accounts behind rigid banking rules. London’s bus network slows amid congestion whilst Qantas launches Sydney-New York flights and sport and entertainment lead headlines.