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Spotify already offers a host of personalized playlists, and now the company is giving users even more control over the generation of those mixes. Building on the mood, decades and genre playlists the platform debuted in 2021, Spotify today introduced Niche Mixes, a feature the company says combines all of its personalized playlists “in a playful way.”

In short, you can now prompt Spotify to create an algorithmically generated mix for almost any mood or genre. To do so, navigate over to Spotify’s search bar and type the activity you want the app to soundtrack for you and add “mix” to the end. You can get pretty creative. I asked Spotify to create a witch house playlist for me, followed by one featuring relaxing videogame soundtracks. In both cases, Spotify obliged and did a pretty good job of selecting appropriate tracks. That said, you'll sometimes run into situations where Spotify won't produce an exact match for the mix you want. For example, I asked it to create a "dubstep work mix," only to get a workout playlist instead.   

As with the company’s other personalized mixes, you can expect each playlist to feature a mixture of familiar songs alongside tracks ones you may not have heard before. Niche mixes are available to today to free and Premium users who search in English.

You now know when you can continue following the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike. Paramount+ has revealed that the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will premiere June 15th, with new episodes appearing each Thursday. While the streaming service isn't saying much about the plot apart from a Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover, it's promising a 10-episode run and has already renewed the show for a third season.

Animation fans in the US, meanwhile, can expect Lower Decks season four in August and a fifth season in the pipeline. The new episodes have the crew of the USS Ceritos dodging "malevolent computers," getting trapped in caves and running into aliens from across the galaxy.

The second season of kids' animated series Star Trek: Prodigy is now slated to debut this winter. The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery was already poised to arrive in early 2024.

The two confirmed renewals aren't surprising. While Paramount+ is now popular for more than Star Trek, the sci-fi franchise remain one of the service's main attractions. Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks in particular have enjoyed a strong reception. With Picard winding down this April, the remaining productions will have to carry extra weight.

If humanity is going to have a long-term presence on the Moon, it's going to need reliable communications — and Lockheed Martin thinks it can provide that link. The company has created a spinoff devoted to lunar infrastructure, Crescent Space, whose first project is a Moon-to-Earth satellite network. Parsec, as it's called, uses a constellation of small lunar satellites to provide a non-stop connection between astronauts, their equipment and the people back home. The system will also provide navigation help.

The technology should help explorers keep in touch, and assist with spacecraft course changes. As Lockheed Martin explains, though, it could prove vital to those on lunar soil. Parsec's nodes create a lunar equivalent to GPS, giving astronauts their exact positions and directions back to base. A rover crew might know how to return home without driving into a dangerous crater, for instance.

Crescent's first Parsec nodes should be operational by 2025, with Lockheed Martin providing the satellites. And before you ask: yes, the company is clearly hoping for some big customers. CEO Joe Landon (formerly a Lockheed Martin Space VP) claims Crescent is "well positioned" to support NASA's Artemis Moon landings and other exploratory missions.

The startup may seem premature when NASA's Artemis program won't even conduct a lunar flyby until late 2024, and a landing at the end of 2025. However, there's already a clear race to the Moon that includes national efforts from the US and China as well as private projects like SpaceX's lunar tourism. Crescent could help Lockheed Martin profit from that rush without disrupting its existing businesses.

Microsoft is working on a new “modern” version of Windows with better security and faster updates, according toWindows Central. The initiative, called CorePC, would allow Windows to scale better for different devices while still supporting legacy apps.

CorePC would aim for many of the same goals as the scrapped Windows Core OS (including the also canceled Windows 10X), which Microsoft billed as a modular modernization of its OS. CorePC would use “state separation” and split Windows into multiple partitions, similar to iOS and Android. This could make it harder for malware to infect the system while making updates faster.

“The current version of Windows is not a state-separated platform, meaning the entire system is installed into a single writable partition,” explains Windows Central. “System files, user data, and program files are all stored in the same place. CorePC splits up the OS into multiple partitions, which is key to enabling faster OS updates. State separation also enables faster and more reliable system reset functionality, which is important for Chromebook compete devices in the education sector.”

CorePC would let Microsoft offer various editions of Windows for different hardware, supporting specific features and apps for each. For example, one educationally focused variant could have a light footprint like ChromeOS, running only the Edge browser, web apps, Office and emulated Android apps. Conversely, CorePC could also offer full-fledged versions of Windows that support all the current features and capabilities of the modern Windows 11 desktop. (A “Neon” compatibility layer would let the OS support legacy Windows apps.)

The company is also reportedly working on a version of CorePC to rival Apple Silicon, which the iPhone maker began shipping in new Macs more than two years ago. Microsoft’s “silicon-optimized” variant would enhance the operating system’s performance and capabilities when tied to specific hardware (like, theoretically, Surface devices running a particular class of chips).

Finally, Microsoft is (unsurprisingly) baking AI into the new project. Its plans include using artificial intelligence to analyze on-screen content and provide appropriate contextual cues. It sounds like a system-wide extension of the AI capabilities in upcoming versions of Office.

As for when you can get your hands on it, Microsoft is reportedly aiming to use CorePC for the next major version of Windows (presumably “Windows 12”), scheduled for 2024. But, of course, the company’s alleged plans could change between now and then.

OverDrive, the service you can use to borrow ebooks, audiobooks and other digital media from your local library, school or university, is shutting down. In a blog post spotted by TechCrunch, OverDrive announced last week it would shutter the app on May 1st, 2023. The company first shared it was planning to sunset OverDrive in 2021, revealing at the time that it would delist the service from app stores in February 2022.

The shutdown represents an effort by OverDrive to move the majority of its users over to its newer Libby app. The two services have existed alongside one another since Overdrive introduced Libby in 2017, though there’s little reason to use the older app. Libby offers a handful of features that aren’t available on OverDrive, including, most notably, support for multiple library cards, a unified bookshelf for all your loans and holds and Apple CarPlay support.

If you use OverDrive to enjoy books on your e-reader, you’re probably wondering how the shutdown will affect your Kindle or Kobo. Amazon did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for information on how it plans to handle the transition. However, most signs point to the shutdown being a minor inconvenience for users who haven’t already moved to Libby. In the US, you can send most books you find on Libby to your Kindle device. Moreover, if you’re still using OverDrive, you can sync your wish lists to Libby. As for Kobo devices, a Rakuten spokesperson said the company would have more information to share on the transition in the future. In either case, Engadget will update this article once there’s more to know.

Nintendo might be making it harder to play its older games on official hardware, but there are other options if you know where to look. One of them is about to be a lot easier to find: Dolphin, a popular emulator that runs most GameCube and Wii titles, will be launching on Steam later this year. Dolphin is already available for free, but launching on Steam could make using the emulator more straightforward on devices like the Steam Deck, where dropping to desktop mode and manually installing programs can be a little cumbersome. 

That doesn't mean downloading Dolphin from the Steam store will give you instant access to classic Nintendo games, however. Dolphin's store page is quick to point out that the "app does not come with games. You must own an original copy of any game you want to use with Dolphin." If you've dabbled in retro game emulation at all, that should sound pretty familiar — emulating console games is a bit of a legal gray area. 

That's probably why the Dolphin Steam page is reluctant to even identify what, exactly, it does — instead choosing to say it plays "classics from the Big N's cube-shaped and motion-controlled consoles." The emulator's website is a bit more explicit, specifically stating that "downloading commercial games is illegal" and encouraging users use homebrew tools to make backups of game discs they legally own. 

Dolphin is expected to launch on Steam Early Access by the end of Q2 2023, with a full launch planned by the end of the year. 

Google already provides some context around search results to help you understand the news, and now it's adding more tools to make sure you see the broader picture. To start, there's a new Perspectives carousel that provides viewpoints from experts, journalists and "other relevant voices" for a given news topic. You may see actors and critics' takes after the Oscars, for instance. Perspectives will be available soon in the US for English users.

You can also learn more about the writers behind news stories. An "About this author" feature tucked inside "About this result" will show creators' backgrounds and encourage the use of trustworthy sources. Google is rolling out the author info worldwide in English, and you'll also find it in the Perspectives carousel.

The company is simultaneously upgrading some of its existing features. "About this result" will be available for all search languages in the days ahead. Advisories for rapidly developing stories are coming to French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese users, too. And if you put an organization's web address into a search, you'll now get "About this page" info toward the top. You'll have a better sense of whether or not that organization's site is worth visiting.

The extra features help flesh out Google's larger bid to fight misinformation and promote news literacy through education, fact-checking and supplemental info. Ideally, searchers will both look for more reliable info and escape media bubbles that reinforce biases. It's not clear how well the additions will help in practice (it requires a desire to double-check content, after all), and this won't fend off bias accusations against Google itself. However, they may be especially useful to students wanting to verify the quality of their sources for essays and research papers.

It’s been three years since Google and security firm ADT announced a partnership to develop Nest-integrated products, and we’re finally seeing the fruits of this team-up. ADT just announced a DIY-friendly suite of security tools under the ADT Self Setup umbrella, and each of these products boasts deep integration with the Google Nest platform.

The ADT Self Setup system includes components from both companies. On the ADT side, they just announced a slew of compatible products like door and window sensors, standalone motion sensors, smoke detectors, temperature sensors, flooding sensors and a keypad to make adjustments. Additionally, ADT will soon offer a keychain remote for even more control options.

All of these products connect via a centralized hub with a built-in keyboard, a siren, and full battery backup in the case of a power outage. Each of the above components offers full integration with nearly every Google Nest device, including the battery-powered Nest Doorbell, the Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest WiFi Router and various indoor and outdoor cameras. Smart displays like the Nest Hub Max are also supported.

ADT

What does this mean exactly? You can make adjustments to the Nest devices via the ADT+ app, simplifying your setup, and you will receive specialized notifications from Nest cameras and doorbells whenever they detect activity. These notifications will even alert you to the type of activity, such as a person rooting around or a neighborhood dog giving your porch a good sniff.

Customers can also use the app to create unique routines and automations that combine the features of both Nest and ADT security products. ADT says these routines will be useful for setting doors to lock on a schedule and lights to turn on or off, among other functions.

Users can receive more benefits by opting into ADT’s smart monitoring system, which is priced at $25 each month. The subscription gets you video verification, in which ADT representatives analyze footage when an alarm is tripped, and 24/7 monitoring. We reached out to ADT and they said the products can be used without a paid monitoring plan, though not all features will be available. As such, the company "strongly recommends customers subscribe in order to get the best protection and experience from their system."

In the meantime, the system is available for purchase starting today. A bare-bones pack including just the control hub costs $180, while a starter package that includes the hub, a Nest Doorbell, and several related sensors clocks in at $480. Finally, an ultra-premium package at $580 ships with everything mentioned above, plus a second-generation Nest Hub.

We now know why Twitter’s algorithm seems to recommend some users’ tweets so often. Newsletter Platformer reports that the company has a secret VIP list of a few dozen accounts “it monitors and offers increased visibility” in its recommendation algorithm. The accounts include Elon Musk, as well as a handful of other prominent Twitter users.

The revelation comes as Musk has repeatedlypromised to make Twitter’s recommendation algorithms open source. He also recently stated that soon only paid subscribers to Twitter Blue would be eligible to have their tweets displayed in the algorithmic “For You” feed. It’s not clear if that change would also affect the VIP list of users who regularly get a boost in the feed. Some of the accounts on the list, like President Joe Biden and YouTuber Mr Beast, are currently verified but don’t pay for Twitter Blue. Twitter no longer has a communications team to respond to questions.

According to Platformer, the VIP list was “originally created to monitor the engagement received by Twitter power users” as the company has tried to allay suspicions that its “shadowbans” certain users to reduce their visibility on the platform. “Our ‘algorithm’ is overly complex & not fully understood internally,” Musk recently tweeted.

But the list, which reportedly is only 35 accounts in addition to Musk, is also telling about who Musk believes should benefit from Twitter’s algorithm. Platformer didn’t publish the entire list, which includes LeBron James, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, venture capitalist Marc Andreesen, Tesla fan account @teslaownerssv and conservative personality Ben Shapiro. It also includes @catturd2, an account recently described by Rolling Stone as the “Sh-tposting King of MAGA Twitter.”

It’s also not the first time that a report has surfaced about how Musk has tweaked Twitter’s algorithm to boost his own tweets. Last month, Musk said the company was fixing an issue that caused users’ For You feeds to be overwhelmed with dozens of Musk tweets. Platformer later reported that Twitter employees had changed its algorithm to favor Musk after the CEO was mad that his Super Bowl tweet didn’t receive as much engagement as Biden’s. Musk reportedly fired an engineer who suggested the lack of engagement was due to declining interest in his tweets.

We don't always think about it, but sound can be as important to identifying a brand as any graphical logo. Netflix's 'ta-dum' instantly brings the streaming service's logo to mind. Apple's startup chime feels like a warm greeting from your computer. Now, Wikipedia has an iconic audio mark of its own: a fluttering of book pages, keyboard clicks and synthesize tones it calls "The Sound of All Human Knowledge."

In true Wikipedia fashion, the four second audio clip was sourced from the community. The Wikimedia Foundation hosted a contest to find an audio logo for "projects when visual logos are not an option." Over 3,000 submissions later, they landed on a series of warm, happy notes preceded by book and keyboard noises, created by Thaddeus Osborne.

Osborne, a Nuclear Scientist by day, will be awarded $2,500 for creating the winning sound. Wikimedia will also be flying him to a professional recording studio to help produce a finalized version of the audio logo. The foundation says it hopes to have the final sound ready to use by June of this year.