The upcoming Michael Jackson biopic features an ensemble cast, who will portray the entire Jackson family. Here is a full guide to the stars.
The upcoming Michael Jackson biopic features an ensemble cast, who will portray the entire Jackson family. Here is a full guide to the stars.
A startup founded by former Anker employees plans to launch a hybrid RV next year. Evotrex “exists to transform how people experience the outdoors,” according to CEO Alex Xiao. On Thursday, the California-based company announced that it had secured $16 million in Pre-A funding. Among its backers are Anker’s founders (not Anker itself).
The RV trailer is designed to last for days far off the grid. To achieve that, its battery is supplemented by a gas engine. “Live rangelessly and focus on the adventure ahead instead of where to find the next charger,” its website reads. Another line: “Relax off-grid without ever needing to leave your base camp.” You get the picture: The idea is that the gas motor lets you venture farther from civilization for longer.
Evotrex’s founders told TechCrunch that the battery will power the RV’s cabin, electronics and electric motor. The gas motor is there to recharge the battery and extend its range. They claim that the gas engine is more eco-friendly than others. They say it’s quieter and more efficient, and that the RV trailer can use the motor’s excess heat to warm the cabin.
Inside of the Evotrex RV cabin. Rendering.
Evotrex is hardly alone in keeping gas engines around. EV sales have slowed, and the industry has responded in turn. According to Pew Research, 45 percent of Americans are likely to consider a hybrid vehicle. Only 33 percent said the same for an EV. So, we see automakers responding by delaying EVs or cutting production. This week, Honda’s CEO said the Trump administration has put US EV growth back by “five years or so.” (Meanwhile, the UN warned this week that the world is falling well short of crucial climate targets.)
Evotrex will fully reveal the RV trailer at CES 2026. The company will open reservations on January 6, and it plans to ship the first models by the end of next year. Apart from Anker’s founders, investors include Unity Ventures, Kylinhall Partners, Vision Plus Capital and Xstar Capital. You can learn more at the company’s website.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/former-anker-employees-launch-new-startup-to-build-a-hybrid-rv-trailer-175423273.html?src=rss
Devolver Digital had a lovely little surprise up its sleeve this fine Thursday. The publisher released an animated short for Ball x Pit, the roguelite mashup sensation that’s put a serious dent in the productivity levels of several of the Engadget crew. The funny four-minute clip, which comedy animation house Mashed created, clears up some key questions about the game.
To set things up, Ball x Pit is set after a cataclysmic event wipes out the city of Ballbylon. A pit is all that really remains, and hunters descend into it to find treasure and resources to build New Ballbylon. In the pit, you fire an array of balls (a bit like in Breakout) to destroy enemies that move incessantly toward you (like in Space Invaders). There are bosses and characters with special abilities and powerups you can merge and evolve to devastating effect. There’s a base-building side to the game too that sees you bouncing the hunters around New Ballbylon to obtain resources and build structures. It’s a very good video game.
The short features two residents of the town joking about some of these hunters during a celebration called Hero Day. The pair ribs the base character, The Warrior, for being a bit basic. When it comes to the second hero — the Itchy Finger — we find out just how the heroes fire the balls. Heads up: it’s a little gross.
One of the things I wished Ball x Pit had more of is lore, and I love that we get some of that here. This is a fun short that makes some lighthearted jabs at the game while describing some of its features and oh no I’m probably going to sucked back in to playing it again — even before developer Kenny Sun adds some extra stuff to it at some point.
Ball x Pit is out now on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It’s available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-ball-x-pit-animated-short-answers-some-key-questions-about-our-roguelite-obsession-180528272.html?src=rss
Amazon just introduced an AI tool that will automatically translate books into other languages. The appropriately-named Kindle Translate is being advertised as a resource for authors that self publish on the platform.
The company says the tool can translate entire books between English and Spanish and German to English. Amazon promises that more languages are coming down the pike. It’s available right now in a beta form to select authors enrolled in the Kindle Direct Publishing platform. There’s a broader rollout planned for a later date.
Books that use this service will have a clear Kindle Translate label, which might serve as a warning to consumers. Translating a book isn’t a matter of just swapping out words. There’s a whole lot of nuance and intent behind those words and it’s unclear if the algorithm will be able to handle all of that. Major literary works often take years to get a decent translation out the door. Just ask Americans who often have to wait eons to gobble up the latest book by someone like Haruki Murakami.
This is a modern AI tool, so it’s worth considering potential hallucinations. Nothing ruins a read more than a nonsensical chapter that was completely made up by a bot. Amazon does say that “all translations are automatically evaluated for accuracy before publication.” Authors can preview the content before publishing it, but they are unlikely to know the language it’s being translated into. We’ll have to see how this all shakes out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-is-testing-an-ai-tool-that-automatically-translates-books-into-other-languages-183056809.html?src=rss
NotebookLM, the one AI tool from Google everyone loves, is about to become more useful for studying. Google has begun rolling out an update that allows people to use the app to create flashcards and personalized quizzes. When you use NotebookLM in this way, you’ll be able to set the difficulty of the material, as well as the number of questions or cards the app presents to you. It’s also possible to select the sources you want the software to pull from by navigating to the Studio tab, meaning you can focus on what matters to you.
With today’s update, Google is also promising significant improvements to the app’s ability to chat on mobile. Thanks to its latest Gemini models, the company says NotebookLM now has a four times larger context window than before and six times longer conversation memory. Overall, chat quality should be about 50 percent better too. If you want to give NotebookLM a try for yourself, download it from the App Store or Google Play.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/notebooklm-can-now-test-your-knowledge-with-flashcards-and-quizzes-183351007.html?src=rss
The late Cowboys defensive end shared a loving relationship with his girlfriend, Catalin. Learn more about her and their life together here.
The late Cowboys defensive end shared a loving relationship with his girlfriend, Catalin. Learn more about her and their life together here.
SpaceX is acquiring more spectrum licenses from EchoStar in exchange for about $2.6 billion worth of shares in Elon Musk’s aerospace company. The transaction is an expansion of the $17 billion deal struck between the companies in September. SpaceX had previously said it would use these licenses for its Starlink satellites as it works to build out the network’s 5G connectivity.
The AWS-3 spectrum licenses changing hands include frequencies used in the US for commercial wireless services such as mobile and satellite communications. The distribution and use of spectrum are overseen by the federal government, which also lays out requirements for the use and development of spectrum for the benefit of consumers.
EchoStar had been facing pressure from the FCC to either use its substantial spectrum stockpile or seek divestment. This deal encompasses all of EchoStars’ remaining unpaired AWS-3 spectrum holdings. Earlier this year, the company sold $23 billion worth of licenses to AT&T in addition to its deals with SpaceX. The FCC ended its investigation into EchoStar after these sales. Today’s deal is pending regulatory approval and no precise closing date was shared.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/spacex-acquires-26-billion-more-in-spectrum-licenses-from-echostar-170233413.html?src=rss
The world is gearing up for the long-awaited (to put it lightly) arrival of Stranger Things’ fifth and final season, but Netflix isn’t ready to sunset one of its defining franchises just yet. Several years after it was first teased, a new animated spin-off series is officially coming in 2026.
Announced to coincide with Stranger Things Day today (November 6, 1983, is the day Will Byers originally got kidnapped, in case you’re scratching your head), Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 takes place between seasons 2 and 3 of the live-action show, during the winter of 1985. It stars what looks like the majority of the original characters — albeit not voiced by the actors who play them in the main show — as they face off against new monsters and a (yet another) “paranormal mystery terrorizing their town.” Hope you didn’t think that Hawkins was about to catch a break.
Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 stars Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will and Brett Gipson as Hopper. It’s coming to Netflix next year, exact release date currently unspecified.
As for Stranger Things proper, that’s coming in just a few weeks time, with the first batch of episodes landing on November 26. More arrive on Christmas Day, with the finale hitting Netflix on December 31. We got a juicy trailer last week, in which poor old Will appears to be in the wars again.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-first-trailer-for-the-animated-stranger-things-spin-off-is-here-172128527.html?src=rss
There’s an official Lego set that recreates the iconic Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation, after first being teased a few months back. It’ll be available on November 28 at a cost of $400. That’s Black Friday, for those at home keeping score.
This is a fairly large set, with 3,600 pieces and all kinds of knick-knacks pulled from the show. It ships with nine minifigures, including Captain Picard, Guinan and Worf. Riker even comes with a trombone and Data accompanies his beloved cat, Spot. Every main character is here, even Wesley Crusher. Ensign Ro Laren makes an appearance, for those who want to recreate the crackling tension between her and Picard.
The ship itself is represented in all of its glory. The saucer section is detachable and there’s a shuttle bay door that opens. Inside, there are two cute little shuttlepods. All told, the model measures around 10.5 inches tall, 23.5 inches long and 18.5 inches wide. It comes with a stand so it’ll look great on that Trek-themed mantle.
The set will be available for preorder soon, but we don’t have an actual date on that. It costs $400. Now that we finally have an official Lego Enterprise, where is the Lego Voyager and Lego Deep Space Nine? Get on that.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/legos-star-trek-uss-enterprise-set-arrives-on-black-friday-173414532.html?src=rss
From endless streaming to viral games, the modern world runs on instant feedback. But what’s really happening in your brain when you chase that quick hit of pleasure, and why can’t you stop? You know the feeling. You tap a reel, the likes roll in and your brain lights up. You watch one episode and…
From endless streaming to viral games, the modern world runs on instant feedback. But what’s really happening in your brain when you chase that quick hit of pleasure, and why can’t you stop? You know the feeling. You tap a reel, the likes roll in and your brain lights up. You watch one episode and…
