The fall hasn't been kind to Disney's streaming ambitions. Disney+ added just 2.1 million subscribers in its fourth quarter, giving it a total of 118.1 million customers. That's in line with the company's already cautious estimate (in the "low single-digit millions") and 60 percent more total customers than a year earlier, but well below what some analysts expected. CNBCnoted that StreetAccount predicted 9.4 million new users this quarter.

Disney's streaming-oriented Direct-to-Consumer division also lost $630 million (versus $374 million a year earlier) due in part to extra spending on production, marketing and "technology costs." These were expected due to the growing service, but they suggest Disney+ isn't yet a net positive for Disney two years after launch. During an earnings call, company chief Bob Chapek was still confident the company would hit subscriber targets (over 230 million users by September 2024) and turn a profit.

The media giant had warned of "headwinds." While it didn't initially shed much light on the problems, we'd note that Disney+ had a relatively quiet summer for shows, with series like What If...? and Monsters at Work shouldering the load. The company did stream two blockbuster movies, Black Widow and Jungle Cruise, but original films weren't a strong point.

Things are looking brighter for the fall. Disney+ is streaming Shang-Chi on November 12th, launching shows like Hawkeye and The Book of Boba Fett, and expanding into countries like South Korea. All of those could boost subscribers and viewership. The issue is whether or not there's enough ongoing content and expansions to return Disney+ to form — particularly when the company is returning to theater-first movie premieres.

After a few delays, SpaceX is finally (hopefully) ready to start its Crew-3 mission. SpaceX and NASA expect to lauch the Crew Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral at 9:03PM Eastern, and you can watch the livestream either here using the company's YouTube channel, through the SpaceX website or NASA TV. Live coverage starts at 4:45PM ET.

This is an instantaneous launch window, so any faults or weather issues will prompt officials to delay Crew-3 liftoff to a "backup" on November 11th at 8:40PM ET. SpaceX and NASA pinned previous setbacks on weather, a minor crew medical issue and the desire to make way for Crew-2's (since successful) return.

This is SpaceX's fifth crewed spaceflight. If all goes well, mission commander Raja Chari and crew members Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer (the latter from the ESA) will dock with the International Space Station on November 11th at 7:10PM ET. They'll conduct science and otherwise participate in station activities until April 2022.

The US and China are at odds on many fronts, but climate change might not be one of them. The Washington Postreports the two countries have issued a joint pledge at COP26 to limit global warming during the 2020s. Both nations said they recognized a gap between current actions and the Paris agreement target of keeping that warming below 2C, and ideally no higher than 1.5C.

The exact terms weren't available as of this writing, but US climate envoy John Kerry said China committed to reducing methane emissions and coal use "as fast as is achievable." China wouldn't, however, join a US-Europe initiative to cut methane emissions by a third no later than 2030.

Whether or not this translates to meaningful action is far from clear. China has made some efforts to promote electric vehicles and reduce coal dependence, but it's still the largest contributor to emissions and hasn't radically reduced its harmful output. It also hasn't had much of a presence at COP26, with President Xi Jinping declining to show up where US President Joe Biden was happy to attend.

The US isn't immune to problems, either. While the Biden administration has promised to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and spur EV adoption, there's no guarantee it can pass legislation needed to honor its side of the pledge. That's also assuming the next White House doesn't undo previous environmental efforts.

It's still rare to see the US and China agree on climate change issues, though, and the very existence of the pledge represents progress for China. The country hadn't previously acknowledged the impact of methane on global warming, for instance. That suggests China is at least aware of the scope of the problem, even if there's a long way to go before it addresses that problem.

Instagram is acting on its promise to encourage healthier social media habits. Social network head Adam Mosseri has revealed that Instagram started testing its hinted-at "Take a Break" feature this week. Opt in and the app will remind you to do something else after 10, 20 or 30 minutes, whether it's a to-do list item or just listening to your favorite tune.

You'll see the option in the "coming days" if you're part of the test. Mosseri hoped to launch the feature for everyone in December. He stressed that Instagram would "take feedback" and refine the design, so you might not have to worry if it doesn't function as you'd hoped.

There may already be room for improvement. Like a previous time limit feature, Take a Break doesn't strictly enforce the pauses. You can simply tap "done" and continue scrolling. You'll have to turn to digital health or parental control features like iOS' Screen Time or Android's Digital Wellbeing to force yourself or a child to do something else.

This is still an improvement, though, and may help if you just need a gentle reminder to put down your phone. Not that Instagram or its parent Meta have much choice. The company is under pressure from regulators and whistleblower Frances Haugen, both of which have accused Meta of focusing too much on hooking users and not enough on caring for them. Take a Break is a step toward more that more responsible approach — it's just a question of whether or not that step is large enough.

YouTube's experiment with hiding dislikes was apparently successful. The service is rolling out a change that will make dislike counts private for videos across YouTube. The button will still exist (and affect your recommendations), and producers can still see the count — you just won't see the numbers as a viewer.

The Google-owned brand is aware that some people used the counts to make viewing decisions, but felt secret counts would help the community at large. New and smaller creators are more often targeted by dislike campaigns, YouTube said, and the test reduced that harassment. The move will theoretically create an "inclusive and respectful" space where video makers both have a better chance to succeed and feel safe.

There's no guarantee this benefit will reach every user, or that it won't prompt determined harassers to find alternatives. It's also no secret YouTube has its own motivations as a victim of dislike attacks — just ask the Rewind 2018 team. All the same, this could discourage 'casual' abuses of the dislike button, not to mention brigading from groups hoping to suppress videos that clash with their views.

Hacking groups aren't always divided between state sponsorship and strictly personal gain. Sometimes, they'll work for any customer with a large-enough bank account. The Recordreports that Trend Micro has identified Void Balaur, a "cybermercenary" group that has struck both political and commercial targets since 2015. It primarily steals data to sell to whoever's willing to pay, whether that's a government or a fraudster.

Void Balaur was initially linked to attacks against human rights activists and journalists in Uzbekistan. More recently, it attacked Belarusian presidential candidates in 2020 and several political leaders in an unnamed Eastern European country. However, the hacking outfit also targeted executives and directors at a very large Russian company between 2020 and 2021, and has been attacking and selling data from telecoms, banks and cryptocurrency users. The group has been linked to the on-demand hacking site RocketHack.me.

It's not clear just where Void Balaur operates from, or whether it has official government support. There's some overlap between Void's targets and those of the Russia-backed APT28 (aka Fancy Bear or Pawn Storm), but not enough to establish a clear link. And while the group has only ever advertised its services on Russian-language sites, it's not necessarily operating from Russia. We'd add that Russia usually turns a blind eye to cybercriminals only so long as they don't attack Russian interests — Void doesn't have problems attacking Russian businesses.

The study illustrates the difficulty in pinpointing the nature of some hackers, let alone catching them. Cybermercenaries also pose a particularly severe threat as they're often happy to attack any target without reservations. It won't be surprising if there are more groups like Void Balaur that have simply gone undetected.

NASA is once again struggling to keep the Hubble Space Telescope running. Wiredreports the Hubble team is slowly reviving its telescope following multiple instrument sync failures that prompted a switch to "safe mode" in late October. Engineers reactivated the Advanced Camera for Surveys on November 7th, but they'll need to verify the device's output this week before they enable any other affected components.

The problems began October 23rd, when NASA noticed that instruments weren't receiving sync messages from Hubble's control unit. Those communication problems continued for two days, prompting the emergency shutdowns. The space agency can't revive Hubble quickly — rapid power and temperature changes risk shortening the telescope's lifespan.

The failure is the second in 2021 to prompt an extended shutdown (the June payload flaw prompted NASA to invoke a month-long "coma" in July), and that's on top of previous problems. NASA had to restart Hubble's gyroscopes in 2018, for instance. The mounting problems suggest the 31-year-old observer is running out of time, and there's no Space Shuttle available if a hardware replacement is necessary.

Astronomers might not be too worried. The James Webb Space Telescope is due to launch December 18th and may serve as a spiritual successor to Hubble, even if it's not focusing on the same wavelengths. Hubble is also contributing to significant discoveries to this day. In that sense, Hubble is effectively signalling that it's ready to pass the torch.

Microsoft's game development teams are having a banner year. The company's gaming head Phil Spencer has revealed that Forza Horizon 5 had the best launch day of any Xbox Game Studios title. There have been over 4.5 million people playing the arcade racer across all platforms (Xbox, Windows and cloud) to date, and its peak concurrent players were three times those of its predecessor.

Horizon 5 is enjoyable, as you might have gathered from our hands-on, but it also helps that the game had one of Microsoft's widest releases yet. The new Forza launched simultaneously on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, the Microsoft Store on Windows and through Steam. It's much easier to pick up the game this time around, and it's a major showcase for both Microsoft's latest consoles as well as PCs with high-end video cards.

All the same, it's a significant moment for Microsoft after years of buying and fostering developers to make Xbox Game Studios a well-known brand. There's a real chance the company will eclipse itself, too, with Halo Infinite poised to launch in less than a month. It's just a question of whether or not these standout launches will translate to better Xbox sales.

Meta will crack down further on potentially harmful ads. The New York Timesreports Meta is removing detailed ad targeting options for "thousands" of sensitive topics on Facebook, Instagram and other services starting January 19th, 2022. The move will bar ads based on interactions with content related to ethnicity, health, political beliefs, religion and sexual orientation, among other hot-button issues.

It's a drastic move, and Meta was aware this could hurt some businesses and positive ad uses. However, VP Graham Mudd said the outgoing options could lead to "negative experiences for people in underrepresented groups." The internet giant believed it could refine its ad platform to serve everyone without hurting business connections.

The company is also giving you more control over the ads you see. In early 2022, you'll have the option to see fewer ads linked to gambling, weight loss and other delicate subjects. You can already limit the frequency of ads for alcohol, parenting, pets and politics.

The stricter ad policies come the same day as Meta's latest transparency report and an overall effort to counter whistleblower Frances Haugen's accusations that the company is more interested in engagement and revenue than the well-being of its users. A 2020 audit concluded Meta fell short on efforts to combat discrimination, including ads. The firm removed targeting for thousands of sensitive ad topics in 2017 and 2018 (including auto-generated anti-Semitic categories), but there's clearly ongoing pressure to show Meta can clean up its ad business.

Meta will still have plenty of ad targeting, including location-based ads, custom audiences and permission-based customer lists. However, this could easily push some marketers to rethink their strategies. This may help by reducing the number of exploitative ads, but it could also hurt the relevancy of those ads you do see.

Google's Nest Hub sleep tracking left something to be desired on launch, but it's about to improve significantly — including a tool to help you fall asleep sooner. The company is rolling out a string of sleep-related improvements to Nest screens that include a catalog of Calm "Sleep Stories." As of December, you can ask Google to "start a meditation" and your smart display will play audio to wind you down. You'll only have access to several tracks for free, but you can unlock the full library if you have a Calm Premium membership.

Other upgrades provide more detail for the tracking itself. The second-gen Nest Hub now provides details about sleeping stages, so you'll know how much time you spend in deep, light or REM sleep. You'll know how long any interruptions might have lasted, too. The Hub's sound detection also now focuses only on coughs and snores inside your designated sleeping area, so you'll know how much a partner (or noisy pet) is affecting your rest. All sounds beyond that area are lumped into an "other sounds" section.

The tracking features start reaching users today. They should be available to all users worldwide in the "next few weeks."

Get ready to start paying for all these sleep aids, though. As previously hinted, Google plans to fold these Sleep Sensing features into Fitbit Premium starting in 2023. It's not certain just what you'll pay on launch (Fitbit Premium is currently $80 per year), but Google clearly intends to make a profit from its Nest Hubs beyond the initial hardware sale.