The cult classic '90s game Earthworm Jim is coming back to TV as a new series, according to Variety and a tweet from Interplay Entertainment. Interplay holds the rights to Earthworm Jim games and recently announced it was bringing the franchise back as an Intellivision Amico exclusive. 

The project will be headed be Interplay's newly formed TV and film studio division, working with the animation studio Passion Pictures. "There’s so much potential in this story universe: a galaxy full of animals battling for power," project lead Michel K. Parandi told Variety. "Jim is an earthworm in a universe where Earth is nothing more than a myth. His struggle to find meaning is surreal and comical, but it’s also relatable."

The first Earthworm Jim game came out on Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in 1994, with the last released in 1999. There's still no word on when the new game will arrive. There was also a Warner Bros. cartoon series based on the game that ran for two season in 1995, with the lead character played by none other than Dan Castellaneta, best known as the voice of Homer Simpson. 

In a follow-up tweet, Interplay said that the original creator of the game, presumably Doug TenNapel, "is not involved at all." TenNapel was originally brought in as a creative consultant on the game, but his participation was called into question after he made a number of racist and homophobic comments on a podcast. 

After introducing its "tip jar" feature to all iOS users over 18, Twitter has brought the feature to Android as well. The idea is that if you see a particularly entertaining or informative tweet, you can send money to the creator's Cash App, Patreon, Paypal, Bandcamp and Venmo from directly within the app. 

Twitter first introduced tip jars in May, then rolled it out widely to iOS users in September. A similar feature is available inside Twitter's Clubhouse-like "Spaces" feature, letting creators charge for "tickets" to its live access features. Twitter also recently opened "super follows" to select creators, allowing them to monetize tweets and provide exclusive content, along with a subscription service that could eliminate publications’ paywalls on the platform.

On top of using regular money via payment services, Twitter may soon let you tip others using Bitcoin. According to a leak, Twitter is planning to use the Lightning Network to enable Bitcoin payments with high speed and relatively low fees.

Roku not only launched a new $15 streaming player yesterday, it's discounting some other products ahead of Black Friday. The best deal is on the Roku Streambar, designed to help you upgrade your TV's streaming capability and sound without spending too much cash. It's now on sale for $80 at Roku's online store, a steep $50 off the regular $130 price. 

In our Engadget review, we said that the Roku Streambar makes "old TVs feel new again." The compact soundbar will blow most built-in TV speakers out of the water, it supports Dolby Audio and doubles as a Bluetooth speaker, too. While you could just use the Streambar for its sound chops, it also includes the same streaming tech as the Roku Ultra. That means it plays 4K HDR content, gives you access to all major streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video and others, and it comes with Roku's voice remote.

Roku

If you already have a soundbar but need some streaming capability, Roku has you covered there, too. It's selling the Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $30, or $20 off the regular price. As a reminder, the Streaming Stick 4K supports Dolby Vision and comes with long-range WiFi, letting you plug it into your TV's HDMI port and play Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming apps. An even cheaper 4K option is the Roku Premiere streaming player that offers HDR without Dolby Vision, on sale now for $20 instead of $35. 

The latter two products are also on offer at Amazon for the same or slightly better prices. For starters, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $29, or $21 off the regular price — an extra dollar of savings. The Roku Premiere can also be found for $20 on Amazon.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

After testing the feature in the US and elsewhere, Spotify has launched synchronized song lyrics for users around the world, the company announced. The new feature is coming to the "majority" of Spotify tracks for both free and premium users, and will be powered in-app by Musixmatch . 

The feature will work across iOS and Android devices, desktop, TV and consoles. To use it, you tap on the "Now Playing View" on a song and swipe up from the bottom of the screen. From there, you'll see track lyrics that scroll in real time, along with a share button for social media. Spotify didn't say how many songs had the feature available, but "majority" implies more than half, at least. 

Spotify has previously dabbled with lyrics, showing the stories behind them with help from Genius, but the feature was limited to a handful of songs. It also teamed up with Musixmatch previously to show lyrics, but that experiment closed down in 2016. Spotify started testing the new feature early this year, but it has actually been active in 26 markets since mid-2020, including Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong and India.

In any case, the update puts Spotify on the level of Apple Music, which debuted its own song lyrics back in 2019, while Deezer also offers a similar feature. However, Spotify has more paid subscribers than both those services put together, meaning more people will be able to sing along to their favorite songs using the correct lyrics. 

What kid hasn't wished that their toy car was a full-sized road-going vehicle? Mattel showed some serious commitment to that idea by unveiling a full-sized EV version of the Barbie Extra Car based on the Fiat 500e that looks exactly like the toy car, Roadshow has reported. 

Now showing at the LA Auto Show, the Extra Car is sitting on a Fiat 500e chassis, with an all-electric powertrain offering 100 miles of range and a healthy 147 pound-feet of torque — enough to let a human-sized Barbie Extra and her pets, accessories, etc. zoom around town. At the same time, Mattel used CAD files to duplicate the body of the toy car precisely and scale it up in foam to fit on the Fiat undercarriage.

Some of those details include sparkly silver paint and wing-shaped doors. The 20- and 22-inch (front/rear) pink and rainbow-hued wheels were apparently 3D-printed and hand painted. The headlights are gold and star shaped, which, nice touch. Sure, the whole affair is designed to promote Mattel's lineup of Barbie Extra dolls and accessories, but it should make the auto show a bit more accessible for kids. 

Google has released a surprise mid-month update for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones that's specifically designed to improve the performance of the fingerprint scanner, XDA has reported. Google changed the location of that sensor on the new model, and it's been a sore point for owners because of slow and finicky performance. 

On top of being slow, the fingerprint scanner occasionally fails to read fingerprints, and has even allowed phones to be unlocked with someone else's fingers, according to Android Police. Google defended the problem at the time by saying the reduced performance was due to "enhanced security algorithms" that took longer to verify identities.  

According to some Reddit users, the update makes the scanner more consistent with fewer failures, particularly if you're using a screen protector. However, it's still slower than some models with similar under-screen fingerprint sensors like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, according to several of those owners. 

Google has issued the update in two builds for Verizon-specific and international models — they should roll out to your device soon, or you can download them directly from Google here.

If you're looking to pick up multiple Apple AirTags, now might be a good time. Amazon-owned Woot is offering a rare deal on a four-pack of the item trackers, selling them for $93, plus an additional $5 off for Amazon Prime members. That takes them down to $88, or just $22 per tag — a tempting offer if you have multiple items to keep safe. Just remember that Woot's return policy is stricter than Amazon's.

Airtags offer several advantages over Tile and other rival trackers, provided you're in Apple's ecosystem. Setup is relatively fast, and the ultra-wideband functionality delivers precision tracking with iPhone 11 and newer devices when you get close — useful for searching in a cluttered room. It's also good over long distances if you lose a bag or wallet, thanks to the AirTag network enabled by all Apple device users. 

As mentioned, AirTags only work with Apple devices, so Android users should look for something else. Battery life is limited, and you'll need to buy an additional accessory to attach them to a bag or keychain. If you're in Apple's ecosystem and want some extra piece of mind with certain items, though, you can now pick them up at a discount — just remember to sign in with the Amazon button to get that extra $5 off. 

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Fujifilm has unveiled the Instax Mini Evo, its new flagship instant film camera with a premium build, higher resolution than previous models and improved smartphone integration. As with other Instax cameras, you can take photos and instantly develop them to Fujifilm's credit card-sized Instax Mini film, but it offers a number of features not available on previous models. 

As a hybrid camera, you can review photos on the LCD monitor and choose the ones you want to print. However, the new model is the first Instax camera with a print lever and lens/film filter dials. That lets you take a picture then choose among 100 combinations of effects (including "Soft Focus," "Light Leak," "Monochrome" and "Retro") and print the image afterwards by pulling the print lever. Fujifilm said the camera also delivers better quality prints as it has twice the exposure resolution of previous models. 

Fujifilm

The Instax Mini Evo is also effectively a mini-printer for your smartphone. You can transfer images from your phone to the Evo Mini wirelessly, then print them using the "Direct Print" button. And for the first time, you can transfer snaps you take with the Mini Evo back over to your smartphone, complete with the film border. Finally, you can use your smartphone to take pictures remotely with the camera. 

Fujifilm also unveiled a new Instax Mini film format called "Stone Grey" with a gray background. The new camera arrives in Japan on December 3rd and will come to the US in February with a price of $200. 

Over the past few years, Google has been trying to repair its reputation as a source for disinformation by launching multiple programs, particularly the Google News Initiative. Now, the company has teamed with PBS Student Report Labs (SRL) and other journalism organizations on programs designed to strengthen media literacy for students, educators and the public.

Google and Student Report Labs are creating educational resources aimed at teaching young people how to talk about misinformation with older family members and friends, Google wrote. "Through storytelling and co-production with students, we’ll explore the media literacy needs of different communities and generations, and how they can connect with each other to find solutions,” says SRL Founder Leah Clapman. As an example, Google referenced an SRL YouTube video called "What does a school board do?" (below).

Google also teamed with the News Literacy Project (NLP), a nonpartisan national education nonprofit, to again provide media literacy education to students, teachers and the public. Google aims to bring its "Newsroom to Classroom" initiative to more journalists and educators, helping NLP expand it to areas in California, Colorado, Texas, Iowa and Nebraska, "places hit particularly hard by the decline in local news," according to Google. 

Finally, Google is expanding its Spanish language outreach by teaming with Poynter's MediaWise project focused on students and seniors. It's joining forces with the team to translate their "How to Spot Misinformation Online" course in Spanish and creating a text-based version that will be delivered via SMS, "which is how many seniors find and share news," the company wrote. 

Google said the efforts will bolster its existing projects like Fact Check Explorer and "about this result" from Search. However, the company has a long way to go to assuage critics in the public and governments around the world that it's beating the misinformation that still plagues its various platforms. 

Google has launched new tools and features for both readers and reporters designed to aid local news organizations, it announced today. The headline feature is a carousel that shows local news in response to search queries, launching around the world in all languages starting today. Google initially launched the feature to provide local information for COVID searches, but it's now been expanded to other topics like sports, local government and more.

Google said it's been tweaking its systems so that authoritative, relevant local news sources appear more often next to national publications in Top Stories and other general news features. "This improvement ensures people will see authoritative local stories when they’re searching for news, helping both the brand and the content of news publishers reach more people," Google said. 

It's also able to drill down into narrow subtopics related to local news, like high school football. Combined with its location services (provided you have those enabled), you should get more relevant results. "For example, if you’re in Detroit and search for football, we’ll now show you results for local high school and college teams, rather than just showing you results for, say, the professional team," Google said. It will also surface tweets from news organization along with "authoritative sources and authors." 

Google

Alongside the new consumer features, Google announced new data tools for reporters. First up is the Census Mapper project, a map that can be embedded in stories to display Census data at the national, state and county level. It was produced as part of the 2020 Census Co-op, supported the Google News Initiative. It can show Census data at a local level, showing how populations have shifted over time. Google is also improving its Common Knowledge Project, a visual journalism project that allows reporters to explore local data. 

The new features might be cold comfort to the many local newspapers and websites that have been gone out of business in part due to the flow of ad dollars to companies like Facebook and Google. Both of those tech giants have put in some funds to support local journalism, but that has done little to stop the decline of newspapers that perform a valuable service in their communities.