You didn't have to wait long for Samsung's latest phones to receive steep discounts. Amazon is running a sale on the Galaxy S23 series that brings the flagship devices to record-low prices. Most notably, the Galaxy S23 Ultra with 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM is down to $1,200 (normally $1,380). You can roll the savings into wireless earbuds, a case and other accessories.

You're still poised to save money if the Ultra is more than you need. The Galaxy S23+ 512GB is on sale for $1,000 (normally $1,200), while the standard S23 with 256GB is available for $800 (usually $860). You don't have to skimp on capacity just to get one of the more affordable models.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is our favorite Android phone, and for good reason. While it's an iterative upgrade to last year's model, it delivers improvements where they matter most: better cameras, longer battery life and faster performance. So long as you're okay with a large screen, this is a versatile device that can handle just about any situation.

Not that the other models are slouches. We liked the Galaxy S23+ for its exceptionally long battery life, vivid display and speedy chip, and the base model won't be far behind. While the low-light photography isn't quite as strong as with other high-end phones, this is a straightforward pick if you're either upgrading from an earlier Samsung phone or want more power than the Pixel 7 line can deliver.

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Blue Origin now has an explanation for the booster failure that cut a New Shepard flight short last September. Jeff Bezos' company has determined that a "thermo-structural failure" in the NS-23 rocket's engine nozzle was to blame. Operational temperatures for the nozzle climbed higher than expected following cooling system design changes, creating fatigue that misaligned the thrust and activated the crew capsule's escape system.

Engineers are already taking "corrective actions" that include redesigning the combustion chamber and operating conditions. Blue Origin has also tweaked the nozzle design to improve its structural integrity. The capsule wasn't damaged and will fly again, Blue Origin says.

The company says it hopes to resume flights "soon," but hasn't provided an exact date. It intends to restart operations by re-flying the research payload from the aborted mission. The Federal Aviation Administration has to accept the incident findings before Blue Origin can move forward.

There's plenty of pressure on Blue Origin to address the issues. The company recently obtained a NASA contract to fly a science mission to Mars using its yet-to-launch New Glenn rocket, and has been pushing for a lunar lander agreement. The sooner Blue Origin can prove that its rocketry is trustworthy, the sooner it can secure customers that include governments and space tourists.

Rivals are facing problems of their own. Relativity Space's first 3D-printed rocket failed to reach orbit earlier this month. SpaceX, meanwhile, has yet to successfully fire all of Starship's engines at the same time. That's not including past problems like Rocket Lab's setbacks. Private spaceflight remains difficult, and Blue Origin is just the latest to illustrate that fact.

It's no shock to see another country banning TikTok from government phones, but France is taking the restrictions a step further. Le Mondereports the French government is banning "recreational" apps like TikTok, Twitter, Netflix and even Candy Crush from public servants' devices. The apps represent cybersecurity risks that could jeopardize data for both the employees and the administration, according to the office of public service minister Stanislas Guerini.

The government hasn't provided an exact list of banned apps. However, Guerini said certain there could be some exceptions for the sake of necessary communication. This won't prevent a social media team from posting content, in other words. The ban takes effect immediately, but the penalties for defying the rule can be decided at the "managerial level," Guerini's office says. The approach doesn't affect personal devices.

The clampdown comes after the US federal government, dozens of states, Canada, the European Commission and the UK have banned TikTok on their workers' devices. In those cases, the rationale has been similar: officials are worried the Chinese government could collect data about important individuals, spread propaganda and compel ByteDance (TikTok's parent company) to hand over sensitive information.

TikTok has repeatedly denied collaborating with the Chinese government. In testimony before a House committee yesterday, CEO Shou Chew said ByteDance was "not an agent of China" and that American user data wouldn't be accessible to staff in other countries by the time a migration project wraps up later this year.

The French policy, however, isn't aimed at any one country or app category. Instead, it represents a general concern that entertainment apps may put government data at unnecessary risk. That's not so hot for employees hoping to watch Netflix during lunch, but it may reassure politicians worried employees might inadvertently expose info through their social media accounts.

Do you like the features that come with Twitter Blue, but not the image it conveys of an Elon Musk superfan? There might be a solution in the near future. As Boing Boingnotes, developer Alessandro Paluzzi claims to have spotted Twitter testing an option to hide the Blue checkmark on your profile. Unless you write a very long tweet or otherwise flaunt Blue-only features, other users might never know that you're paying for perks. You'd still need to verify your government ID to use the features.

Twitter isn't available for comment as it disbanded its communications team after Musk's purchase. The test comes as Twitter says it will start removing legacy verified checkmarks on April 1st. In November, Musk called legacy checkmarks "corrupt" and said the social network would remove them in the months ahead. 

There are reasons you might want to hide the checkmark besides humility or embarrassment, of course. You may not want to give the impression that your tweets represent the views of your employer. And if you share the same name as a celebrity, you might not want to risk confusing users.

There's no guarantee Twitter will make the checkmark-hiding option widely available. If the company presses ahead, though, this might (further) diminish the value of the blue tick by making it inconsistently visible. On top of this, Twitter now has gold and grey checkmarks for business and government accounts respectively — those are the true upper-echelon badges.

The UK is softening its objections to Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revised its findings and determined that the merger won't lead to significantly reduced competition in the console space. While the evidence remains the same, the watchdog now finds that Microsoft's ownership of franchises like Call of Duty would "not materially affect" Sony's ability to compete with PlayStation systems. Microsoft could "degrade" the PlayStation's appeal, the CMA says, but Sony's platform has a strong-enough catalog that the damage would be limited.

The Authority also reconsidered its view that Microsoft might benefit from shutting out Call of Duty's PlayStation audience. More recent Microsoft data suggests the company could suffer substantial losses in "any plausible scenario" by making the game franchise Xbox-only or offering exclusive perks, according to the CMA. Not enough gamers would switch from PlayStation to Xbox to make that strategy work, in other words.

The CMA makes clear that the updated findings don't change its concerns about cloud gaming services. In February, the regulator said Microsoft represented up to 70 percent of the worldwide cloud gaming market, and completing the Activision Blizzard purchase could harm gamers who can't afford an expensive console or PC.

We've asked Microsoft and Sony for comment. Activision Blizzard tells Engadget in a statement that the CMA now has an "improved understanding" of the console market, and that Microsoft already has solutions in place for remaining issues. Activision maintains that Sony is only trying to "protect its dominance" by contesting the acquisition.

Sony has long opposed the deal and calls it a "threat to our industry" that could hurt the quality of Call of Duty on PlayStation. Microsoft has made a number of concessions in hopes of clinching the Activision Blizzard takeover, including 10-year multi-platform promises for Call of Duty as well as arrangements to bring games to rival cloud platforms.

The UK overseer's change of heart doesn't overcome resistance to the merger in other countries. The US Federal Trade Commission is still suing to block the union, and points out that Microsoft made future titles like Redfall Xbox-exclusive on consoles despite assurances to European Union officials. Objectors can also comment on the findings before the end of March. However, the new stance still improves Microsoft's chances of completing the acquisition — a major regulatory body just dropped its main point of contention.  

You no longer have to wonder whether or not the revived Twitter Blue subscription is available in your country. Twitter has confirmed that Blue is now available worldwide. Pay $8 per month ($11 if you sign up through the iOS app) and you'll get the no-longer-that-special blue checkmark as well as 4,000-character tweets, higher ranking in replies, post editing and other perks.

Organizations, meanwhile, can pursue a more useful tick next to their names. Twitter has begun accepting applications for the grey checkmarks that verify government officials and organizations, not to mention their equivalents at multilateral institutions. As you might guess, the criteria is stricter. Applicants have to use either their government ID or a valid email address, and have to describe their positions and functions. Businesses can already apply for gold checkmarks.

The new Twitter Blue launched in November, but it quickly ran into problems. As the checkmark looked the same whether you'd paid for it or were a legacy verified user, people quickly used the membership to impersonate notable figures. Twitter soon blocked brand new accounts from signing up for Blue, and had to relaunch the tier in December with gold and grey checkmarks in tow. 

A global rollout may be essential to boosting Blue's popularity. According to a leak source, the paid option reportedly had just 180,000 subscribers in the US as of mid-January. CEO Elon Musk is said to want half of Twitter's revenue to come from subscriptions, and that requires reaching a wide audience. Now, it's less a question of availability and more whether enough users will consider the extra features worth the outlay.

After a particularly long incubation process, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is almost ready to ship. Daedalic has revealed that its stealth action take on JRR Tolkien's fantasy world will be available May 25th on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version is due later in the year. While the mechanics of the game are by now familiar, this still promises to be a fresh take if you weren't enthused with the hack-and-slash of Monolith's Middle-earth games.

You play Gollum in a previously unrecorded story of his search for (what else?) the Precious during the first few chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring. He's clearly not a brawler, so he has to sneak and climb to survive. And crucially, the battle inside his corrupted mind plays a key role. You have to choose between giving into Gollum's darker impulses or hanging on to the shreds of kindness from Smeagol. While this is an original tale based on the books, you'll run into familiar characters and navigate a world heavily inspired by Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies.

To say Gollum has taken a while to finish would be an understatement. It was originally unveiled in 2019, and even then wasn't expected to arrive until 2021. That year came and went (the pandemic didn't help speed development), and even a tentative September 2022 release didn't happen after a delay that was only supposed to last "a few months" as Daedalic took extra time to polish the title.

The timing might work in the game's favor. In 2019, Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV series was still in its infancy, and the last big Tolkien game (Middle-earth: Shadow of War) was old news. Flash forward to 2023 and it's another story. Amazon's The Rings of Power show is a major success, and movie effects house Weta Workshop is making its own game set in the franchise. There's a renewed interest in hobbits and orcs, and Gollum might benefit from that demand.

Atari is betting that an acquisition will bolster its classic game library. The company is buying Nightdive Studios, best known for its upcoming System Shock remake, for $10 million in cash and stock. The move will help Atari both expand its catalog and use Nightdive's combination of technology and publishing to boost a "retro-focused" strategy. The deal is expected to close in April.

Apart from the System Shock re-do, Nightdive mainly thrives on the KEX engine it uses to make vintage games run on today's PCs, in some cases with technical improvements. Its modernizations range from well-known hits like Quake and Blade Runner through to cult favorites like Darklands and Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri. Nightdive isn't a large company, having racked up $3 million in revenue last year.

For Atari, this is part of a broader bid to refocus on gaming. The company has tried (and struggled with) multiple unusual ventures in recent years, including crypto, online casinos and even themed hotels. Nightdive lets Atari concentrate on making "premium" PC and console titles without relying solely on retreads of first-party games, and without spending as much time developing technology to port old software. Atari is nowhere near returning to its heyday, but it may become more relevant to gamers than it has been in a while.

Relativity Space has finally launched its 3D-printed rocket after multiple scrubbed attempts, but the results are decidedly mixed. The startup's Terran 1 vehicle successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral late Wednesday, but it failed to reach orbit after the second stage engine ignited only momentarily. It's not clear what led to the failure, but Relativity is promising updates in the "coming days."

The company still characterizes the mission as an accomplishment. Terran 1 endured Max-Q (maximum dynamic pressure), the moment expected to place the most stress on the 3D-printed design. The rocket wasn't carrying a customer payload. Instead, it carried the first metal produced from Relativity's 3D printing system.

As CNNexplains, the two previous launch attempts were plagued with problems. Relatively had trouble cooling propellant in time for the first liftoff, while the second was hampered by both a wayward boat and a software flaw that prompted an automatic engine cutoff shortly after ignition.

Relativity is using the expendable Terran 1 to demonstrate the viability of its 3D printing technique ahead of the reusable Terran R rocket's planned 2024 launch. The manufacturing process theoretically provides simpler, more reliable rockets that are cheaper to make and can be ready within weeks. That, in turn, could lower the costs of delivering satellites and experiments into orbit.

While this launch represents progress, there's mounting pressure to complete testing. Relativity already has contracts that include launching OneWeb satellites and Impulse Space's commercial Mars mission. There's also the simple matter of competition: rivals like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab aren't standing still, and any setbacks limit Relativity's chances to win business.

You might not have to go to great lengths to cancel subscriptions in the future. The Federal Trade Commission is proposing rule changes that would require providers to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions as it is to sign up, including through the same medium. If it only takes a few clicks to join an online fitness class, for instance, you should have the option to cancel online in just as many steps.

The proposal would also let you decline to hear pitches for additional offers when you want to cancel service. Providers would have to provide annual reminders of renewals for subscriptions to anything besides physical goods, the FTC says. Other rule updates would require clear explanations of what people are getting and bar misleading claims.

The FTC's effort would revise the Negative Option Rule from 1973, and would echo European Union policy on subscriptions. This will ideally prevent companies from either fooling customers into paying for services they don't want or are done using, commission Chair Lina Khan says. It's also meant to prevent the all-too-common tactic of forcing customers to call or visit a store in order to make the cancellation process difficult.

The proposal doesn't outline specific penalties for violations. It's not clear how effective the updated rules would be at deterring offenders. If implemented, though, the approach could make it easier to experiment with services. You could subscribe for a few months without worrying that you'll struggle to cancel your plan. Telecoms, meanwhile, might also have to let you leave without making last-ditch offers or asking you to talk to a shop clerk.