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One day before Elon Musk is expected to finalize his deal to buy Twitter, he’s attempting to reassure the platform’s advertisers that he won’t turn the platform into a “free-for-all hellscape.” In a message posted Thursday, Musk tried to explain why he wanted to buy the company, and that he doesn’t intend to blow up its advertising business.

“There had been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising,” he wrote. “Most of it has been wrong. Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!”

Musk has previously said that he would like to loosen Twitter’s content moderation rules, and do away with permanent bans in most cases. But that stance has upset many Twitter employees, and worried the company’s advertisers. The Wall Street Journalreported that some advertisers have even threatened to “pause all their ads” if the company gives Donald Trump his account back — something Musk has said he would likely do.

While Musk didn’t walk back those comments, he said he wanted Twitter to “be warm and welcoming to all.” He added that people should be able to “choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”

Musk’s comments come just after he visited Twitter’s office and reportedly told employees that he won’t be axing 75 percent of its staff as earlier reports had suggested. He also apparently met with Twitter COO Sarah Personette, who tweeted that she had a “great discussion” with the Tesla CEO. “Our continued commitment to brand safety for advertisers remains unchanged,” she wrote.

Notably, Musk’s stance on advertising is very different from former CEO Jack Dorsey, who privately told Musk that Twitter “can’t have an advertising model” and suggested it should be a “foundation of sorts” like the messaging app Signal. But though Musk responded favorably to the idea at the time, his message to advertisers now sounds very different.

“I also very much believe that advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you,” Musk wrote. "For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs. Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content."

“Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise.”

Almost two years after Netflix tweeted (and deleted) about an animated Sonic the Hedgehog series that's coming to the streaming service, the show has a release date. Season one of Sonic Prime will hit the platform on December 15th. The first season will have 24 episodes.

Alongside the release date announcement, Netflix unveiled character posters for Sonic, Amy Rose, Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, Big the Cat and, of course, Eggman. The company will offer another look at the show during the weekly Geeked: Toon-In show, which will be broadcast at 8PM ET today on the company's Twitch channel. The latest teaser will likely pop up on Netflix's YouTube channel and elsewhere soon after.

The Sonic franchise has enjoyed a resurgence over the last few years, particularly in the wake of two well-received and successful movies. Back in June, Sega released a decent, remastered bundle of four classic Sonic games. On the horizon is Sonic Frontiers, an open-world 3D platformer that will arrive on November 8th.

Twitch is continuing its ongoing safety reforms with a simple but potentially useful move: writing its policies in plain language. The company has rewritten its Community Guidelines to provide what it believes is a clearer structure with simpler wording, more context and practical examples. This includes new top-level categories (such as "Civility & Respect" and "Sensitive Content") and more logical category groupings, such as a "Youth Safety" section that covers everything related to users under 18. Some violations now have dedicated categories, such as "Sexual Harassment" and "Prohibited Games."

The livestreaming service emphasizes that the guidelines themselves haven't changed. This is an effort to make the rules more usable. In theory, at least, you'll see fewer inadvertent violations and more people reporting misbehavior. Twitch pointed to past revisions as an example of what could happen. When it enacted clearer rules for hate and harassment at the start of 2021, it saw both a 920 percent year-over-year surge in enforcement as well as a 511 percent jump in valid user reports.

The rewrite is an acknowledgment that Twitch's lack of clarity has sometimes led to very real problems for creators. The service added a "Hot Tubs" category last year in part because its previous approach (lumping these streamers into the "Just Chatting" section) led to ambiguity for both users and advertisers concerned broadcasters were flouting the rules. Twitch also revised the language for its sexual content policy, and in June streamlined its approach to mentions of self-harm.

Twitch says it will continue refining the policies themselves, including a "more comprehensive" revision of its sexual content material. The clarification isn't going to satisfy users concerned about the effectiveness of the guidelines. It may result in fewer accusations of unfair bans and demonetization, though, and might make it easier for Twitch to expand policies over time.

The Federal Communications Commission is well aware of the potential damage from fake emergency alerts, and it's hoping to minimize the threat with policy changes. The agency has proposed rules that would require stricter security for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Participants and telecoms would have to not only report EAS breaches within 72 hours, but provide yearly certifications that they both have "sufficient" safeguards and a risk management plan.

The proposed rules would also require phone carriers to send authentication data ensuring that only legitimate emergency alerts reach customer devices. The FCC is similarly looking for comments on the effectiveness of the current requirements for transmitting EAS notices, and suggestions for "alternative approaches" with improvements.

The proposal comes three years after University of Colorado researchers warned that it was easy to spoof FEMA's presidential alerts, with no way to verify the authenticity of the broadcasts. And while the 2018 Hawaii missile alert was the result of an error rather than a hack, it underscored the risks associated with false warnings. Even at small scales, a fake alert could reach tens of thousands of people, possibly leading to panic and reduced trust in real messages.

It's not certain if the proposals are enough. The 72-hour window may help prevent some false alerts, but not all of them — that's plenty of time for a hacker to both breach an emergency system and send fake messages. It's likewise unclear if the FCC would update its security requirements to keep up with evolving threats. Even so, this shows that the Commission is at least aware of the dangers.

YouTube is attempting to make it easier for folks to find reliable and high-quality health information on the platform. It's opening up its health product features to certain healthcare professionals and information providers in the US. It started offering those features last year to educational institutions, public health departments, hospitals and government bodies. "This new step will allow us to expand to include high quality information from a wider group of healthcare channels," Dr. Garth Graham, the global head of YouTube Health, wrote in a blog post.

The features include labels under videos that clearly state the information is coming from a healthcare professional or accredited organization. When a user searches for a term such as "bipolar" or "breast cancer," they may see a carousel of videos under the label “From health sources” near the top of the search results.

YouTube says healthcare professionals can apply for the program starting today. They'll need to submit proof of their medical license and for their YouTube account to be in good standing. They'll also need to follow the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, the National Academy of Medicine and the World Health Organization best practices for sharing health information. YouTube plans to expand the program to more markets and other types of medical specialties.

Helping people obtain credible health information from a verified professional is inherently a positive move. YouTube will still have to tread carefully with this program, given the COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation that has been rife on the platform over the last few years. Meanwhile, YouTube points out that people shouldn't consider health-related information they learn from verified professionals as medical advice (and nor will the videos apply to everyone). You'd still be best served to get in touch with a healthcare provider if you have a medical concern and to contact emergency services if the need arises.

The market for wireless earbuds is loaded with quality options, but in the sub-$100 range, the selection is generally a bit spottier. We've found Jabra's Elite 3 to be a standout for those on a budget, though, and as of this writing the earbuds are down to $50 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Jabra's online store. We've seen the Elite 3 hit this price a few times this year, but the discount is still about $15 off the device's average street price in recent months and $30 off Jabra's MSRP.

The earbuds briefly dropped to $47.49 earlier this month, but this matches the lowest price we've seen outside of that. It's also worth noting that Best Buy is marketing this as the Elite 3's "Black Friday price" as part of a wider early Black Friday promotion, so this is likely to be the earbuds' going rate during any upcoming holiday sales.

Our audio expert Billy Steele gave the Elite 3 a score of 88 last year, deeming it "the new standard for affordable wireless earbuds" in the process. We were particularly impressed in the sound department: it's not purely neutral, and it can't match pricier models like Apple's AirPods Pro or Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3, but the overall clarity is greater than what you typically get for less than $100, let alone $50, and the bass-forward profile lends tracks a nice amount of body. 

We found the Elite 3's compact design to be light and comfortable in the ear, with reliable physical control buttons on each earpiece. The buds have an IP55 dust and water resistance rating, which is enough to survive most workouts. Battery life comes in at roughly seven hours of continuous use, which is good, with another 20-ish hours available through the included charging case. A recent firmware update also added the ability to create a custom EQ profile, addressing one of the issues we had in our initial review.

To be clear, these are still Jabra's "budget" earbuds, so their overall feature set is limited compared to more expensive alternatives. There's no active noise cancellation, no wireless charging support, no ability to connect to more than one device simultaneously, and no automatic pausing when you remove an earpiece. Call quality is just average, and while there is a "HearThrough" ambient sound mode, it generally sounds more muffled than the equivalents on higher-end pairs. Anker's Soundcore Space A40 is a good budget-friendly alternative for those who want ANC and other advanced features, though it's still pricier at $100. 

Nevertheless, the Elite 3's overall package remains a strong value when it's discounted to this extent, so consider this a PSA if you're been looking for a quality set of no-frills wireless earbuds without spending a ton.

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Fast Company isn't the only news outlet to suffer a recent, high-profile security breach. As CNBCreports, The New York Post has confirmed it was the victim of a hack. The perpetrators briefly defaced both the newspaper's website and Twitter account with racist and sexist headlines, including ones targeting New York City Mayor Eric Adams and House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

In a statement, the The Post said only that it was "investigating the cause." No one has taken credit for the hack as of this writing, and it's not clear if the intruders took any sensitive data.

This isn't the first breach targeting The Post this year. In February, News Corp revealed that hackers compromised email accounts and documents for The Post and Wall Street Journal employees, including some journalists. Mandiant, a security firm working for the media giant, believed China was conducting an intelligence gathering operation. It's not certain if there's any relation between the cyberattacks.

The attack comes just weeks after Fast Company fell victim to hacks that let the culprit send racist notifications to Apple News users. The publication went so far as to shut down its entire website while it addressed the incident. The hacker claimed to have exploited weak password security in WordPress that let them steal employee login info, password hashes and draft articles.

There's no known link between the hacks at present. However, they illustrate the potential dangers of site violations like this. On top of the risks to data, they provide easy ways for hackers to spread toxic and partisan messages. It won't be surprising if there are similar campaigns in the near future, especially with the US midterm elections just weeks away.

It’s been a long road, getting from Lower Decks’ slightly rough-around-the-edges first episode to here. But it hasn’t taken that much time, since Star Trek’s first animated sitcom very quickly found its feet to become my favorite Trek of the streaming era. The second season showed a growing confidence in its own execution, and as the third season concludes, we find it proud to show the world what it’s now capable of.

The clue, really, was in the swift resolution to the Pakled cliffhanger which ended the second year. On one hand, a sitcom like Lower Decks doesn’t need to turn into The Wire to keep you hooked. But it’s also aware that it can sow the seeds of a running plot thread – the story of Rutherford’s implant – into the fabric of so many episodes. And that the payoff was far more interested in the impact on the character than the cliffhanger.

And these strands certainly paid off in “Reflections,” which revealed that a person, or persons unknown, were behind Rutherford’s implant. But even that paid off in a way that you weren’t necessarily expecting it to come back here in the two-ish part finale. And who was the big bad of the season, really? Nothing more than the bete noire of so many Golden Era Trek episodes, the Evil Admiral™. I loved the show’s attempted justification for why Starfleet churns out so many of them – the lack of career development pushes people to extremes – too.

If there was a sore spot, it was that the penultimate episode, “Trusted Sources” wheeled out the hacky Journalist Makes Everyone Look Awful plot. It’s about as hackneyed as the one where a sitcom character has their boss over for dinner yet accidentally forgets to tell their partner. It’s only really a crowbar to get Mariner pushed out of Starfleet in preparation for the finale, and it never looked like it was going to stick given her obvious love of the Cerritos.

Naturally, the season ends with a punch-the-air victory for not just the Cerritos, but the whole California Class. I’ve always loved Lower Decks’ celebration of the painstaking, cautious and fundamentally boring, yet fundamental, work that serving in Starfleet often requires. Its regular rejection of the, uh, more Kurtzmanesque tendencies of the series makes me love it all the more. Because, like science, the best work is often slow, incremental and dull until it marks a fundamental shift in how we understand the universe. And you can’t really do that if you’re spending your whole episode running from an explosion or proving how tough you are.

Another sign of the show’s confidence is in its second crew-lite episode (I’m always a fan of a show that’ll take you elsewhere for an episode or two). This time, it was centered on the fate of the evil Exocomp Peanut Hamper, last seen making a run for it in the first season finale. “A Mathematically Perfect Resolution” allowed the show to both flesh out a previously one-note character, and explore a new corner of the Star Trek world.

Even better, the sparse opening act offered a lengthy showcase for Chris Westlake’s gorgeous score. Star Trek has always been about its music as much as its narrative, and the show is lucky to have both Westlake and Nami Melumad producing virtuoso work on a weekly basis. I can’t wait for a season three soundtrack album, especially since we once again hear the James Horner-parodying Lower Decks Action Theme several times this year.

If I have a concern, it’s that Lower Decks often feels like it’s designed with lasers to milk my nostalgia glands. I’ll often spend a chunk of each episode clapping like a mad seal at the latest Trek deep cut Mike McMahon and Co. throw at viewers each week. The only thing that prevents it from becoming gratuitous fanservice is that these feel mostly earned. And it has been an orgy of references, including an extended visit to Deep Space Nine.

My heart can do nothing but swell when Nana Visitor (Kira), Armin Shimmerman (Quark), JG Hertzler (Martok), Susan Gibney (Leah Brahmas) and George Takei (Captain Sulu!). And the show has the appropriate respect for Trek MVP Jeffrey Combs to bring him back for a quick visit to Agimus, still trapped in Starfleet’s filing cabinet for self-aware, megalomaniacal computers. I didn’t even mention the extended First Contact riff, complete with an appearance by James Cromwell, or the riff on classic TNG episode “Symbiosis” with quite possibly the darkest joke ever seen in a Trek series.

I’m running out of room to heap the usual praise on the cast, all of whom do sterling work on a regular basis. And that’s before we discuss the glorious, last-minute reveal that T’Lyn, the so-called “emotional” Vulcan from last year’s “wej Duj” has transferred to the Cerritos. (Do I want her to join Beta Shift? I have no idea, but I’m looking forward to seeing how she interacts with the gang now she’s here.)

I’m naturally very excited for Lower Decks’ Season 4 but, by my calculations, the next time we’ll see Mariner and Boimler appear in Strange New Worlds. Given that we already know that Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid look like their characters, I can’t wait to see them appear on the Enterprise bridge and stare lovingly at Pike’s Peak. My favorite nü-Trek series merging with my second-favorite? Be still my beating heart.

The United Nations has issued another stark warning that, under current policies, the planet is falling far short of the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. That's the threshold scientists say we have to remain under in order to mitigate extreme, life-threatening weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and tropical storms. Under current policies, the UN suggests we're nowhere close to meeting that climate change target and that there's "no credible pathway to 1.5C in place."

The UN laid out the dire state of affairs in a report it released just a week before the start of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt. It said that pledges made by national policy makers since COP26, which was held in Glasgow last year, "make a negligible difference to predicted 2030 emissions" and that progress over the last 12 months has been "highly inadequate." In fact, the report suggests that current active policies will lead to a 2.8C rise in global temperatures by the end of the 21st century and that implementing pledges that have been made will only limit the rise to between 2.4C and 2.6C. Even that would require perfect implementation of plans, with wealthier countries helping poorer ones to enact them.

"In the best case scenario, full implementation of conditional NDCs [nationally determined contributions], plus additional net zero commitments, point to a 1.8C rise," Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said. "However, this scenario is currently not credible."

The 13th edition of the Emissions Gap Report argues that major societal and infrastructure changes are required. It lays out the necessary actions for sectors including electricity supply, industry, transport and buildings, along with the food and financial systems. The report notes that, in order to get on course to meet the 1.5C goal, we'd need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a further 45 percent by 2030, compared with projections based on current policies. To limit the rise in temperatures to under 2C, an extra 30 percent reduction in emissions is required.

"Is it a tall order to transform our systems in just eight years? Yes. Can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions by so much in that timeframe? Perhaps not. But we must try," Andersen wrote. "Every fraction of a degree matters: to vulnerable communities, to species and ecosystems, and to every one of us."

It took several months, but Snap's promised video editing suite is finally available. The social network is now rolling out "Director Mode" to all Snapchat users on Android and iOS. As teased in April, the feature lets creators add polish to their Snaps with virtual green screens, camera speed changes and quick editing for multiple clips.

You can also use the BeReal-style Dual Camera functionality within this mode, although it's currently limited to iOS users. Android users will have "limited" access to two-camera recording in the weeks ahead. Dual Camera is also available through the regular Snapchat cam.

Director Mode will be useful for influencers who want to produce videos for Spotlight, Snapchat's home for TikTok-like short videos. It may be particularly helpful for verified users (Snap Stars in company lingo) who want more of the sheen they apply to all their online content.

Snap isn't alone in chasing after TikTok and similar rivals. Instagram has been testing a Candid Challenges feature that mimics BeReal, and it's no secret that social media heavyweights have routinely lifted elements from each other in a bid to remain competitive — to the point where they've occasionally had to walk back their plans after mimicking designs too closely. Like it or not, social networks are harmonizing to the point where differences may only be subtle.