You can enjoy Disney's subscription service for a fraction of its usual price if you haven't tried it before or if you haven't been paying for it for quite some time. Starting today until September 20, a Disney+ Basic subscription will cost only cost you $2 a month for three months if you're a new or returning subscriber in the US. The ad-supported tier would typically cost you $8 a month, so that's $18 in savings if you've been thinking of finally signing up or resubscribing for any of the service's upcoming releases. 

The company launched an ad-supported plan for its streaming service back in December 2022. It hasn't raised prices for this tier since it became available, but the ad-free options had a price hike twice over the past year. An ad-free premium tier subscription will set you back $14 starting on October 12. This promo could give you an idea whether you're ready to commit to paying that much for the service every month, or if you could endure the ads Disney+ serves and stick to the basic option.

Of course, a subscription to Disney+ means getting access to its latest show and movie releases. Star Wars: Ahsoka dropped on August 23, while the live action reimagining of The Little Mermaid and the second season of I Am Groot are now also available. In addition, Disney and Pixar's film Elemental will be available for streaming on September 13.

TikTok has started migrating its European users' data to its long-promised center in Ireland. The video-focused social network has announced that its Ireland data center is finally operational as part of its larger progress update for Project Clover. TikTok announced the data privacy and security initiative back in March shortly after the European Commission banned staff members from using its app on work devices. As TechCrunch notes, though, the service revealed that it was putting up a data center in Ireland way back in 2020, with the expectation that it was going to be operational by early 2022.

Now that TikTok was able to overcome the issues that caused delays to the center's launch, it has started data migration, which likely won't be finished until the fourth quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, a second center in Ireland and another Norway are also under construction. The video hosting service has been under intense scrutiny over the past few years, and these are part of its efforts to get authorities to trust the app. In 2022, TikTok's parent company ByteDance confirmed that some of its employees, whom it eventually fired, accessed the data of several users in the US, including journalists. The revelation came in the midst of state governments banning TikTok from government-owned devices.

In addition to announcing the beginning of data migration, TikTok has also revealed that it has secured the services of a company called the NCC Group. The information assurance firm based in the UK will audit its data controls and protections, monitor its data flows, provide independent verification and report any incidents if needed. TikTok says the company will monitor data coming in and out of the center so it can ensure that only approved employees can access users' sensitive information. 

Nintendo has teamed up with Niantic for a new Pikmin mobile game that's mostly good for passing time than serious gaming. It's called Pikmin Finder, and as Nintendo Life notes, the companies have released it in time for the Nintendo Live event in Seattle. You can access the augmented reality game from any browser on your mobile, whether it's an iPhone or an Android device. We've tried it on several browsers, including Chrome and Opera, and we can verify that it works, as long as you allow it to access your camera. 

Similar to Pikmin Bloom, the game superimposes Pikmin on your environment as seen through your phone's camera. You can then pluck the creatures by swiping up — take note that there are typically more of the same color lurking around when you do spot one. Afterward, you can use the Pikmin you've plucked to search for treasures, including cakes and rubber duckies. You'll even see them bring you those treasures on your screen. 

Pikmin Finder

To play the game, you can go to its website on a mobile browser and start catching Pikmin on your phone. You can also scan the QR code that shows up on the website when you open it on a desktop browser.

Google Nest device owners will have to pay at least $20 more if they want access to their security cameras' and doorbells' more sophisticated features and lengthier footage history. As reported by 9to5Google, the tech giant has sent out notices to subscribers in the US, telling them that the standard Nest Aware subscription now costs $8 per month or $80 a year, up from $6 a month or $60 when paid in an annual basis. 

The company started offering whole-home Nest Aware subscription plans that cover all a user's devices back in 2019. Before that, they've had to add a subscription for each of their cameras. The plan gives users access to intelligent motion detection, which can differentiate between several types of activities, dog barking alerts and person speaking alerts. It also gives them access to 30 days of video history with recorded events. Without a subscription, users can only access up to three hours of recording saved on their device. 

The subscription service has a higher tier called Nest Aware Plus, which now costs $15 per month or $150 a year. That's up $3 a month from $12 and up $30 a year from $120. In addition to all the features offered by the basic plan, the Plus tier also includes access to 10 days of continuous video history and 60 days of video history with recoded events. 

In a page explaining the price hikes, Google said "subscription prices can change to keep up with market shifts, which can include inflation and local tax updates." The new prices already apply to new subscribers, while old members can expect to pay more on the next bill they receive on or after November 6. Google also reportedly said in its letter that it will notify members outside the US 30 days ahead of any price increase, which means that the price hike could make its way to other territories.  

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to recreate India's IT boom with space, a government official told Reuters. And the Indian Space Research Organisation's efforts do show that the country truly is serious about wanting to be known as a major player. Just a week after Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the moon, the country's space agency has already launched a rocket carrying Aditya-L1, the first Indian mission dedicated to observing the sun. 

Aditya-L1 will travel 930,000 miles over four months until it reaches the L1 Lagrange Point between the sun and our planet. A Lagrange point is a place of equilibrium between two massive orbiting bodies where objects tend to stay put, thereby minimizing a spacecraft's fuel consumption. The spacecraft will remain in orbit to collect data that scientists are hoping would help them figure out why the sun's corona is hotter than its surface. 

They're also hoping that the mission could provide information on how solar radiation and various solar phenomena affect communication systems and satellites, as well as power grids. By understanding those effects, space companies and agencies can better protect satellites in orbit. If scientists can predict coronal mass ejections, for instance, they can alert operators so that they can shut down their satellites' power before the phenomenon occurs. In addition, scientists are hoping that Aditya-L1 can shed light on solar wind behavior and on how the sun's activity can influence the Earth's climate in the long run. 

Sankar Subramanian, principal scientist of the mission, said: "We have made sure we will have a unique data set that is not currently available from any other mission. This will allow us to understand the sun, its dynamics as well as the inner heliosphere, which is an important element for current-day technology, as well as space-weather aspects."

India already has several other missions lined up for the coming years. It's working with Japan to send an uncrewed lander and rover to explore the south pole region of the moon by 2025. Before that, by next year, it's planning to launch orbiters to observe Mars and Venus. 

There's a new Rugrats game coming out next year, and you can play it with graphics that make it look like it was developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The Mix Games and Wallride have unveiled Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland, which you can play either in HD cartoon mode or in 8bit mode, if you're feeling nostalgic. It's a puzzle platformer where you have to control the Rugrat of your choice — Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil — as they pretend that they're inside a game. 

Its official page says: "Through the power of imagination, the babies transform Tommy's house into a video game world full of action, excitement, and adventure!" The game features multiple levels with different themes and bosses, and each Rugrat has unique abilities of their own that you can use to navigate the environment and to defeat enemies. You can also play solo or in a two-player coop if you want to enjoy the game with friends. 

According to the developers' announcement, the game is making its way to PC and consoles sometime next year. They didn't say which consoles exactly, but Mix confirmed on Twitter that it will be playable on NES hardware. The game will most likely be available as a software download, but the developers are also planning to release physical versions of the title via Limited Run Games. 

You can watch a trailer of Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland below:

Lenovo has introduced its new flagship gaming laptop at IFA 2023, and it's the first 16-inch model under the company's Legion brand. Called the Lenovo Legion 9i, it's powered by the 13th-gen Intel Core i9 processor and can be equipped with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTXTM 4090 Laptop GPU, as well as a 64GB Overclocked 5600Mhz Dual Channel DDR5 RAM or a 32GB Overclocked 6400Mhz DDR5 Dual Channel RAM. Lenovo VP Jun Ouyang said the Legion 9i is the first Legion laptop with an integrated liquid-cooling system and hardware AI chip tuning.

The company describes its liquid cooling system as the first of its kind for a 16-inch laptop. It's positioned so that it runs over the GPU VRAM, allowing it to manage heat under extreme gaming sessions, and it switches on when the GPU hits a temperature of 183 degrees Fahrenheit (84 degrees Celsius). This works in tandem with an AI-tuned triple-fan air-cooling system. Speaking of AI, Lenovo's LA-2 AI chip syncs the RGB strips around the keyboard and on other parts of the laptop. As for the device's screen, it uses Lenovo's PureSight 3.2K Mini-LED with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 165Hz variable refresh rate. The laptop can also accommodate up to a 2TB SSD for storage. 

One interesting thing to note is that the company didn't launch separate Pro and Slim variants like it does for lower-tier gaming laptops, because it says this model fulfills the purpose of both varieties. The Legion laptop will ship with Windows 11 and a 3-month free subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It will be available in October with prices starting at $4,399. 

Lenovo

In addition to the new flagship laptop, Lenovo has also announced a new version of its Legion Glasses, which are a wearable virtual monitor. They use the company's micro-OLED display technology and can deliver full HD resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate for each eye. These glasses provide a portable, large-screen viewing experience for users with Legion Go and other compatible devices, which include most newer Android phones, iPhones, Windows and Mac computers. They will also be available next month and will set buyers back at least $329. 

Meta's Oversight Board has put a new case, which it believes is relevant to its strategic priorities, under the spotlight. In a post, the board has announced that over the next few weeks, it's reviewing and accepting public comments for a case appealing Meta's non-removal of content that denies the Holocaust on its platforms. Specifically, this case pertains to a post going around on Instagram that puts a speech bubble on an image with Squidward, a character from SpongeBob SquarePants, denying that the Holocaust had happened. Its caption and hashtags also targeted "specific geographical audiences."

The post was originally published by an account with 9,000 followers in September 2020, and it was viewed around 1,000 times. A few weeks after that, Meta revised its content policies to prohibit Holocaust denial. Despite the new rules and multiple users reporting it, the post wasn't quickly removed. Some of the reports were auto-closed due to the company's "COVID-19-related automation policies," which were put in place so that Meta's limited number of human reviewers can prioritize reports considered to be "high-risk." Other reporters were automatically told that the content does not violate Meta's policies. 

One of the users who reported the post chose to appeal the case to the Board, which has determined that it falls in line with its efforts to prioritize "hate speech against marginalized groups." The Board is now seeking comments on several relevant issues, such as the use of automation to accurately take enforcement action against hate speech and the usefulness of Meta's transparency reporting. 

In a post on Meta's transparency page, the company has admitted that it left the content up after initial review. However, it eventually determined that it was left up by mistake and that it did violate its hate speech policy. The company has since removed the content from its platforms, but it promised to implement the Board's decision. Meta's Oversight Board can issue policy recommendations based on its investigation, but they're not binding, and the company isn't compelled to follow them. Based on the questions the Board wants the public to answer, it could conjure recommendations that would change the way Meta uses automation to police Instagram and Facebook. 

The Apple Watch Series 8 is on sale at Amazon again, and it has even reached a new low for certain colors. You can get the 41mm Series 8 with Midnight or Starlight aluminum cases and bands for $310, which is the lowest we've seen them go for at Amazon. The model with a Red case and band is on sale for the same price — it went for as low as $280 on Prime Day, but you can at least get one today at 22 percent lower than retail if you missed your chance last time. 

We called the Apple Watch Series 8 the best smartwatch at the time it was released last year and praised it for having "excellent health and fitness tools." It can track your body temperature, and if it's relevant to you, it can use that information to determine if and when you had ovulated. The watch also has the capability to measure your blood oxygen and can tell you the quality of the sleep you've been having. Plus, it comes with ECG capabilities. 

It comes with an enhanced Workout app that can suggest new ways to train. You can use it to text, make calls and listed to music without having to take out your iPhone. And, like other Apple Watches, you can use it to unlock your Mac, find your other Apple devices and pay with Apple Pay. The tech giant is selling the devices at a discounted price less than a couple of weeks before we could potentially find out what's next for the wearable. Apple recently announced that the iPhone 15 event is taking place on September 12th, and it's very much possible that the company will also unveil the next Watch model at the same time. 

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Signify, the Philips spinoff known for its Hue lighting products, has announced a new category for the brand that puts it in direct competition with companies like Ring and Nest. Yes, the company has launched new security products, most of which will be available this fall. They include Philips Hue Secure cameras in wired and wireless (or battery) versions that feature a 1080p HD video feed with night vision. 

You can use the cameras to talk to a visitor or delivery person outside your door, and you can program them to work in tandem with your Hue lights and sound alarms to help deter intruders. The devices can notify you of movements, but it has the capability to differentiate between pets, packages or people. Signify also says that end-to-end encryption is enabled by default, so your footage remains private. The new Hue Secure cameras can be used indoors or outdoors, and you can prop up the wired version with its companion desktop stand. Both will be available this autumn, though the wired camera will be a bit cheaper at $218 (€200) than the $273 (€250) battery variant. 

If you want something specifically for outdoor use, though, you can also get the Philips Hue Secure floodlight camera. When you trigger a light alarm from the Hue app, it instantly illuminates a large area in any color you want to help ward off potential intruders. This one is coming out later, in the first quarter of 2024, and will sell for $382 (€350).

Signify

Aside from the aforementioned security cameras, the new Philips Hue lineup also includes contact sensors. You can stick them on doors, windows and other places, so you can get notified if somebody opens them. Plus, you can program them to work with Hue lights so that they'd switch on or off if the sensors detect doors being opened or closed. The sensors will be available this autumn in black and white for $44 (€40) each or $76 (€70) for a two-pack.