Christopher Nolan crafts another cinematic epic with ‘Oppenheimer,’ a brilliant, tense film with an aftershock that you’ll feel long after you’ve left the theater.
Christopher Nolan crafts another cinematic epic with ‘Oppenheimer,’ a brilliant, tense film with an aftershock that you’ll feel long after you’ve left the theater.
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter posted a sexy photo in a pink bathing suit after opening up about her battle with an eating disorder in June.
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter posted a sexy photo in a pink bathing suit after opening up about her battle with an eating disorder in June.
You may be more or less prepared for the academics of college, but the other life stuff can be an eye-opener. College might be the first time you’re in charge of your own finances, and with new living situations, new jobs and new connections, you may also be expanding the amount of personal data you’re putting out into the world. If you could use a little help with budgeting, remembering passwords or making sure everything you do online is secure, here are the finance and security apps we’ve used, tested and ultimately recommend.
If you’re new to tracking finances, getting an overview of your banking, credit and loan accounts in one place can be helpful. Mint is a simple and free app that does just that. I tested it for our subscription guide and continue to use it. The interface is intuitive and it’s pretty good at correctly categorizing purchases. The main features, like transaction history, self-budgeting and goal-setting, are available free. For $5 per month, you can have Mint cancel subscriptions on your behalf and you won’t see as many ad links peppered throughout the app (though, I’ve never found the ads particularly distracting.)
For help creating a more formal budget, a few Engadget staffers use YNAB (You Need A Budget) and we recommend it in our guide to student budgeting. It’s based around a theory that imposes four “rules” to improve your money management, and learning those principles now will benefit you long after graduation. The browser and mobile app interfaces are pretty easy to use, and YNAB has a ton of instructional content for newbies that can point you in the right direction when you’re first setting up expense categories, debt trackers and sinking funds. It’s usually $15 per month or $99 per year, but students who can prove they’re in school can get a year for free.
Between loans, jobs and, if you’re lucky, scholarships and financial aid, a student’s “extra” money can be pretty limited. Goodbudget translates the envelope technique to an app format, earmarking your money for the things you need to pay for. By visualizing what you have and what you need, you can see when there’s room for stuff you want, like going out with friends or decorating your first apartment. Plenty of graphs and sliders help map out your situation, and Goodbudget also offers free online classes for those who want to get better with money (granted, that may be a hard sell when you’re already in school). The free version gives you twenty total envelopes, split between expenses and goals, and lets you add one bank account. For unlimited accounts and envelopes, the paid version is $8 per month or $70 per year.
Say you indulge in an Iced Toasted Vanilla Oatmilk Shaken Espresso for $5.75. The Acorns investment app rounds up that last 25 cents and deposits it into an investment account, and over time, your money grows. By providing a simple app and recommending just a few different portfolios, Acorns takes some of the complexity out of investing. For students in particular, it’s also easier to invest a few cents here and there than larger chunks of cash when you’re already just trying to get by. The monthly plan defaults to $5 per month with an option of a $3 plan at sign up. Both come with a checking and a retirement savings account in addition to the investment features, so if you’re totally starting fresh, this could prove useful.
Our senior security reporter, Katie Malone, put 1Password at the top of Engadget’s guide to password managers. Like all services like this, 1Password one helps you create unique and complex credentials for every site you use, and then saves them securely so you don’t have to remember them all. It works across most platforms and even lets you share logins and credit card info with other people as needed, which will make it easier to access any family accounts you may need while in school. The security and encryption measures are top-notch, with a zero-knowledge policy that ensures the company doesn’t store your data, as well as a bug bounty program that rewards ethical hackers who discover any vulnerabilities.
If you study in public places where the WiFi is suspect, a VPN can give you an extra layer of protection. It’s not a cure-all for online security woes, but VPNs do create a protected “tunnel” to keep out people who may otherwise have access to your data, like your internet service provider or hackers targeting public WiFi. Proton VPN is the best overall option not just because it’s easy to use. The Switzerland-based company also enforces a no-log policy and their open-source software continually stands up to independent audits. Unlike some VPNs, it didn’t tank our connection speeds in our tests, either. Proton goes for $10 per month to access servers in 65 countries, or you can get the free version with access to just three.
Free email services are everywhere, but finding one that isn’t propped up by selling your habits and history to advertisers is almost impossible. And while you might get a school email address, a good personal email will serve you long after access to your alumni mail is discontinued. ProtonMail is focused on privacy: It uses end-to-end encryption, whereas a service like Gmail encrypts messages in transit only. Proton’s open-source encryption methods are independently audited, and since the service is supported by paid subscriptions and not advertising, the company has little incentive to snoop your info. Free plans give you one gigabyte of storage and allow for 150 emails per day, while a $12-per-month subscription grants 500GB of storage and removes email limits.
As a non-profit, there’s no tech giant behind the wheel at Signal, which sets it apart from most other messaging services. A phone number is required for set up, but that’s about all the information Signal ever collects. It’s a favorite of journalists, protestors and people living in unstable territories, but students who realize their communications are no one else’s business will find the app useful, too. Texts, videos and images you send are end-to-end encrypted using open-source protocols, and you can even set messages to expire. Recent additions that enhance group chats may make Signal feel a little more like other messaging apps, but the core structure of the service will always be fundamentally more private than many competitors.
Staying safe in college extends beyond online safety, which is where apps like Noonlight come in. Tinder bought a stake in the app a few years ago to help people in the event of a date gone wrong. Within the app, you’ll find a giant white button that you press and hold in sketchy situations. As long as you hold the button, nothing happens. Let go of it, and unless you enter a secret pin to prove you’re safe, the police will be dispatched to your location. A timeline feature lets you add names and images when you’re meeting someone new. The safety network allows your friends and family to request check-ins and take action when they don’t hear from you. The free version includes all three of the features mentioned above, while the $5-per-month plan adds an iPhone widget and the ability to sync with rideshare apps.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-finance-and-security-apps-for-college-students-130035602.html?src=rss
The following article contains spoilers for “Lost in Translation”
Late last month, I came off my bicycle and smashed the side of my head on the curb in a fairly dramatic accident. It gave me one hell of a concussion, a smashed-up face and a fair amount of memory loss, including everything about the incident itself. Four weeks later, I’m still struggling, and while I’m feeling a little better every day, it’s a slow process to recovery.
It’s appropriate, then, that this week’s Strange New Worlds touches on that relationship with our memories. The episode asks if memory is tied to empathy and if we can only sympathize with others if their pain calls to our own. I might not be entirely lucid all of the time right now but it certainly does feel like the smartest episode of Star Trek I’ve seen in a while.
Enterprise and the Farragut are headed to a new facility that’s behind schedule, a deuterium extraction base. Starfleet has built the enormous “gas station” inside a nebula on the edge of Gorn space to help fuel a new age of space exploration. And, you know, be a nice strategic location for the already well-telegraphed war with the Gorn that’s coming at some point soon.
Uhura, who has been more involved with this mission than others, is feeling the strain of all the work. She’s having difficulty sleeping, and has been watching videos that Hemmer recorded for her to teach her how to do basic engineering work. At the nebula, she starts hearing the Transformers noise, and experiences flashbacks to the accident that killed her family.
Rather than keep these problems to herself, Uhura wisely goes to Dr. M’Benga for help, but he prescribes rest. The crew believes she’s suffering from deuterium exposure as hallucinations are a common side-effect. But the visions get worse, and she starts seeing Zombie Hemmer – a welcome, if brief return for the much-missed Bruce Horak.
The gas station should have been active a while ago, so Pike sends over Una to crack the whip and Pelia to lend her expertise. There’s tension between the pair, Una acting like the sort of hard charging CEO who ignores Pelia’s soon-proved-right opinion. One of the station’s crew has been sabotaging things, and is seeing the same traumatic visions as Uhura.
As much as the crew is sympathetic to the pair’s plight, they still feel the cause is deuterium poisoning. The only person willing to explore another option is “and special guest star Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk.” He’s over from the Farragut for, uh, reasons, but quickly forms a bond with Uhura, trusting her instincts that something strange is going on.
ASIDE: Those reasons being that Anson Mount was on paternity leave for a chunk of Strange New Worlds’ second season. The crew gave him a greatly-reduced workload, and you’ll notice how little Pike has been present in many episodes. Much as Mount is the show’s star, and a wonderful presence, his reduced visibility here has been a boon for the series overall. More of the ensemble has been given more time in the spotlight, and while the limited episode order hampers some of this broadening out, it’s great to see a more democratic vision of the show.
There’s a touching scene, too, where La’an and Kirk talk about their divergent childhoods, and the absence of parents. George Kirk (still alive in this universe) was missing from much of Jim’s childhood, roaming the universe to save others; La’an, meanwhile, was one of those people saved. It’s a little, elegant reminder of why Starfleet exists, and why so many people in Trek’s fictional world sign up to its mission.
The rogue station crewmember breaks out of sickbay, shuts off the lights and looks to sabotage the Enterprise in the only underwhelming moment in the whole episode. It almost felt like a studio note to break up the pace of the episode with an “action” sequence, albeit one that can be shot on standing sets. The team stumbles around in the darkness of the Enterprise corridors for a bit, before Kirk saves Uhura from an explosion.
After much unraveling, it transpires that the gas station is built on the home of extra-dimensional aliens lurking within the deuterium. Their only way to communicate is to find sympathetic brains and provoke memories of grief, of loss, to try and explain their predicament. Both the station and the starships are pulling in deuterium for fuel, mincing up countless alien lifeforms for power.
Uhura and Kirk go to Pike, who wastes no time in torching the station rather than allowing any more pointless deaths. Uhura can sleep well again, and even Zombie Hemmer has been turned back into Regular Hemmer, smiling in approval. There’s just time for Jim to meet Spock for the first time before we pan out to the credits.
At the risk of sounding like Bill Hader’s impression of Alan Alda, “Lost in Translation” is full of great writing. The screenplay, credited to Onitra Johnson and David Reed, is smarter and subtler than some recent Trek episodes I could mention. While some Strange New Worlds’ episodes can sometimes leap to unintended conclusions while exploring a Big Idea, it works perfectly here. And I must say that it’s a wonderful sight to see Pike choose to torch the station because it’s very clearly the right thing to do. Much as we may miss the debating-hall sequences of golden-age Trek, isn’t it nice to just see people do the thing that aligns with their values rather than spending 35 minutes talking about it beforehand?
This is an exploration of empathy, and how some people get it, and the help that comes with it, while others are left to suffer in ignomy. It speaks to a sense that we’re missing a general sense of empathy in public life, as a number of figures strive to out-do each other in their brutality. Is memory, then, the key to mercy? Are those who were brought up in perpetual comfort less able to feel pity? If it’s the former, it’s a deliciously subtle comment about those with short memories – often emboldened by a political and media culture that values forgetfulness – are forever doomed to make the same mistakes.
ANOTHER ASIDE: A recurring theme in Strange New Worlds’ second season is the function of memory, and not in the way you might expect from a prequel. Rather than amping up the nostalgia bait, the show is instead exploring how memory informs and shapes our society. The one downside of “Among The Lotus Eaters” was that one episode simply couldn’t contain a deeper exploration of its perpetually-amnesiac society.
So, yeah, I’m a fan.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-finds-empathy-in-memory-130048301.html?src=rss
You won’t have much trouble paying with your palm at the grocery store in the near future. Amazon now says it’s bringing its One palm recognition technology to all Whole Foods Market stores in the US by the end of the year. As before, you can hover your palm over a reader to pay for your shopping or make use of your Prime perks. You won’t have to pull out your phone or wallet if you’ve already signed up online.
Amazon One is already available in 200-plus stores in states like California, New York and Texas. The expansion will bring it to over 500 shops. The tech is also available in some third-party locations. You can buy beer at the Colorado Rockies’ stadium, or get breakfast at a Panera cafe.
The palm recognition system is billed as an advantage over tap-to-pay and other contactless systems that still require some kind of physical item, including Amazon’s computer vision-based Just Walk Out tech.It’s also potentially helpful for businesses. It makes sure that alcohol buyers are of legal age, and the deeper nature of the scans (which look at both the palm and veins) create a distinctive vector “signature” that supposedly can’t be copied.
The approach has its critics, however. Activists have called on music venues and other locations to drop Amazon One over privacy and human rights concerns. While Amazon touts secure cloud storage for palm signatures as well as anti-tampering protections, opponents are concerned governments could use the data to track protesters and marginalized people. Objectors are also worried hackers could still take and abuse data.
The company is already facing legal trouble over its practices. A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges Amazon broke New York City law by failing to clearly notify Go store shoppers that it was collecting biometric data, including palms. Amazon maintains that One users are explicitly consenting to data collection, but it’s not clear that’s enough to honor the legislation.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-bringing-its-palm-based-payments-to-all-whole-foods-market-stores-132413042.html?src=rss
Elizabeth Banks looked stunning in a floral bikini while taking a dip in the ocean during the heat wave.
Elizabeth Banks looked stunning in a floral bikini while taking a dip in the ocean during the heat wave.
In a behind-the-scenes look at a recent photo shoot, Serena Williams showed off her bare baby bump while dancing to keep her unborn child ‘healthy.’
In a behind-the-scenes look at a recent photo shoot, Serena Williams showed off her bare baby bump while dancing to keep her unborn child ‘healthy.’
Apple lovers who constantly lose their keys got a new way to keep track of them with the launch of AirTags. But despite how easy they are to set up, Apple’s tiny Bluetooth trackers have one critical flaw: no built-in keychain hole. That means anyone who buys AirTags will have to buy holders or cases to attach them to their stuff.
Despite how backwards this seems, it’s a very Apple move since many will simply buy the company’s own AirTag holders to make things easy for themselves. But those aren’t the only options available as plenty of accessory companies have hopped on the AirTag train with their own cases, holders, straps and more. If you already bought an AirTag or two, you probably know where you want to put it – and that placement will dictate the type of case you should get for it. These are some of our picks for the best AirTag holders that will work for a variety of items.
Spigen’s Valentinus AirTag cover is one of the best alternatives I’ve found to Apple’s own leather key rings. It has a very similar design to the first-party accessory (albeit made with pleather) , but it comes in much cheaper at only $8. Your AirTag nestles into the perfectly-shaped leather circle and snaps shut, and since the leather extends slightly over both sides of the tracker, there’s very little chance it will pop out unexpectedly. I also appreciate that it comes with a carabiner-style key ring, which makes it easier to secure to your belongings.
Orbitkey’s Leather Holder for AirTag is a more elegant version of Apple’s accessory. It’s a genuine leather sleeve that opens just wide enough for you to slide your AirTag into its pocket. Attached to it is a quick-release ring that takes some getting used to, but once you know how to open it up, it’s easy to secure onto your keys. You essentially just have to push in one direction on the holder’s ring to unlock it, which then allows you to secure the AirTag to a lanyard, your car keys and the like. It’s a good option if you prefer that your accessories have a more polished look.
Caseology’s Vault has a more utilitarian design, made with tough, textured TPU. The oval-shaped holder has an opening on one side into which you pop your AirTag. The other side has a smaller opening that attaches to the included carabiner, which is one of the best clips I came across in my testing. It’s pretty basic as far as carabiners go, but it’s better than a standard key ring — especially if you want to easily attach your AirTag to something other than your keys like straps on a backpack, or even a pet collar. Overall, the Caseology Vault is one of the most attractive holders I tested and it will be a solid choice for anyone who doesn’t need leather.
Incase’s Woolenex AirTag holder is one that is just as attractive as it is durable. The company’s Woolenex fabric is made of a woven blend of polyester fibers that make the accessory lightweight, water repellant and fade- and tear-resistant. Incase makes a bunch of accessories out of this material, and those who like premium fabrics that can also handle a bit of wear-and-tear will gravitate to it. The holder has a TPU snap closure and circular cutout so it won’t interrupt the AirTag’s signal — plus, it lets you see any cute engraving you may have on your tracker.
AirTags can also help you keep track of larger bags and luggage, and you could easily slip one into an interior pocket and call it a day. But if you’d rather hook the tracker to the outside, you’ll need something a bit larger and more flexible than a standard key ring. Belkin’s Secure Holder with Strap is a good option, and it’s budget friendly at only $13. The case opens up into two pieces, allowing you to sit the AirTag inside the circle and twist and snap the two halves together to lock it in. You can then attach the AirTag to your luggage handle, water bottle or other item with the strap, which feels quite strong.
I appreciate the unique design of Belkin’s Secure Holder, although it was hard to twist open when the AirTag was inside of it. But that’s a good thing for daily use; your AirTag isn’t going anywhere when in the Secure Holder. I also liked its slightly raised edges, which provide extra protection against impacts and bumps.
Whether you’re attaching an AirTag to your house keys or clipping one to your kid’s backpack, you don’t need to settle for a boring holder. There are a number of fun AirTag cases available now and some of our favorites come from Elago. The accessory company makes a bunch of minimalist AirTag holders – which are good options if you’re looking for something simple and cheap – but it also has cases in the shapes of avocados, ice cream bars, floppy disks and even retro game controllers. The best part is that, unlike other brands that can quickly raise prices when you want a fancily-shaped case or a holder with your favorite character on it, Elago’s playful cases will run you no more than $15 apiece.
Keyrings and straps aren’t the best way to attach an AirTag to anything and everything. Things like bikes, coolers, luggage and other items would be better served by an adhesive mount. Pelican makes one of the most protective ones available at the moment – the Protector Sticker Mount case has a two-piece design that you pop open to insert your AirTag inside. It basically acts as a little box in which your AirTag lives while it’s tracking your stuff. You can stick it to your items using the strong adhesive panel on the back of the case, and Pelican even includes an extra adhesive pad in the package as well, just in case you need another one. While the case itself is a bit tough to get open at first, that just shows how hard it would be for your AirTag to accidentally pop out of it.
Similar to Pelican’s Protector, Moment’s Stretch Fabric Mount for AirTag sticks to surfaces – in this case, any fabric – and keeps your tracker enveloped in its double-hemmed, powermesh design. It’s a good alternative if you don’t want your AirTag sliding around inside the interior pocket of your backpack, or worse, the less-secure pockets of your coat. And since Moment’s wrap is quite thin, it blends into the lining of bags, jackets and other things better than bulkier options.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-apple-airtag-cases-holders-accessories-123036404.html?src=rss
Despite Mauricio Umansky and Kyle Richards recently denying that they broke up, Andy Cohen claimed that Mauricio was ‘available’ in a recent red carpet interview.
Despite Mauricio Umansky and Kyle Richards recently denying that they broke up, Andy Cohen claimed that Mauricio was ‘available’ in a recent red carpet interview.
Netflix has removed its $10 Basic tier — once the service’s cheapest plan without ads — in the US and the UK. The company has updated its pricing page to say new and rejoining members in both countries can no longer sign up for the Basic tier. If you’re already on the plan, you can keep your membership as is (and pay $10 a month) until you cancel or change your subscription – or Netflix changes its mind, I’m guessing.
If new members don’t want to pay for a Standard plan, they must now make do with the Standard Ad-Supported tier, which costs $7 a month in the US and £5 in the UK. It supports Full HD streams and viewing on two devices at a time, like the no-ads Standard plan but lacks offline viewing. How many ads are you likely to see if you want to save money? Netflix says you’ll get an average of four minutes of ads an hour at around 15 to 30 seconds each, which, of course, you can’t skip. Streaming services are all looking to get more money out of us, whether they’re closing off their cheapest plans or increasing their base prices. YouTube Premium seems to be following suit.
– Mat Smith
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Apple is working on its very own chatbot, according to Bloomberg sources. Engineers have cheekily named the toolset AppleGPT, but it’s actually called Ajax, as the large language model (LLM) was built using Google’s JAX framework. Sources indicate Apple has multiple teams working on the project, with one team devoted to addressing potential privacy concerns. This move comes after Apple CEO, Tim Cook, told Good Morning America that generative AI is something the company is “looking at closely.” According to Bloomberg, John Giannandrea and Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, are leading the initiative.
In 2023, when new generations of phones never seem quite as exciting as the last, Nothing has made the Phone 2 stand out. Its eye-catching design captures some of the best qualities of clear plastic gadgets from the ‘90s, but in a more sophisticated way. Nothing’s Monochrome UI asks users to be more thoughtful about how they use their device while giving them tools like the Glyph interface that can surface info and notifications in novel ways. It’s also very similar to the company’s first phone.
After almost six years, Beats is back with new over-ear noise-canceling headphones. A significant update from the Studio 3 Wireless, the new Studio Pro is a familiar formula reconfigured from the inside out. A second-generation version of Beats’ own audio chip powers this new model, delivering improvements to active noise cancellation (ANC), spatial audio with dynamic head tracking and wired audio modes via USB-C connection. The one thing that hasn’t particularly changed? The $350 price.
Robosen announced a new auto-converting Transformer today. After launching its self-transforming Optimus Prime in 2021, the company set its sights on Grimlock, the Autobot-allied leader of the Dinobots, who changes from a robot into a mechanical T-Rex. The Grimlock collectible stands 15 inches tall in robot mode and 15.4 inches in dinosaur mode. Robosen describes its auto-transforming as “the epitome of auto-conversion” – all for just $1,699, or $1,499 for pre-orders.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-netflix-axes-its-basic-plan-111511962.html?src=rss
