The following article discusses the fourth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

There’s a risk, using a word like “should” that we’re a short hop away from a tantrum to police the borders of What Proper Star Trek(™) is. But after watching most of Star Trek: Lower Decks’ fourth season, it does feel as if the show’s outlook is the most Star Trek of the bunch. Part of this is because the show is mature enough to laugh at itself, and part of it is because it’s now letting its characters grow. This is a sitcom, so its first duty is to be funny rather than weighty, but it’s a welcome sight to see the quartet escape the bottom rung.

I don’t think that’s much of a spoiler, because it’s in the trailer, the press material and the cast’s promotional interviews with TrekMovie. At the start of season four, some of the quartet get their promotions to Lieutenant Junior Grade, and out of their shared bunk. Now they’re expected to lead away missions, take on real real responsibilities and actually lead other people. It affects them all differently, with Boimler struggling to grow into his role, and Mariner fighting every urge in her body not to self-sabotage, with varying degrees of success. And it’s here, I think, that we see the side of Star Trek that so often gets overlooked in its other properties.

After all, Starfleet is an organization of people coming together to do better for other people, but also to improve themselves. For every daring scientific experiment and skin-of-the-teeth rescue, we see more of the senior officers’ desire to actually nurture their charges. This, too, helps to broaden the series’ focus, to include T’Lyn, the fan-favorite who joined the Cerritos at the end of last season. The broader view also gives Captain Freeman more of a central role in several episodes, especially highlighting the times when her knowledge is ignored by her superiors. For all we’ve seen of the dung rolling downhill and landing in Beta Shift’s trench, it’s not as if those higher up the chain don’t get their fair share of excrement, too.

I wonder if its status as Star Trek’s officially-sanctioned Class Clown gives it room to be more subversive than anyone gives it credit for. Time and again, both in this series and before, we see totems of Star Trek’s past commoditized and packaged for sale. It’s an easy way to milk fans’ nostalgia glands, but it’s also potentially a subtle critique about the nature of nostalgia. As much as Lower Decks was created by a Next Generation fan who wants to recapture some of that magic, it’s also a commentary on that very same desire. And the show’s creative team is clear-eyed enough to notice that series’ blind spots and mine them for comedy.

But, for all of this high-falutin’ talk, this remains Lower Decks, a series that can have you in tears at the sight of a pair of dueling [SPOILERS] trying to out-compliment each other. And, if nothing else, it’s a pleasure to spend more time with Starfleet’s horniest and weirdest crew.

The first two episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks will be available to watch on Paramount+ on Thursday, September 7. A new episode will arrive on subsequent Thursdays.

Late-night comedy’s five biggest hosts are starting a podcast. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon will host Strike Force Five, a weekly chat about “the complexities behind the ongoing Hollywood strikes.” All proceeds will go to out-of-work staff from the hosts’ five talk shows.

“The hosts bring their unique insights, opinions, and humor to the show as they navigate the Hollywood strikes and beyond,” a Spotify blog post reads. The five comedians will take turns moderating the episodes. Spotify’s Megaphone is producing the series, and the streaming service is the podcast’s sole sales partner — but the series isn’t exclusive to the platform. “[It’s available on] Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts,” Meyers said in a video Kimmel posted to X (formerly Twitter). “But Spotify, you fucks,” Oliver aggressively deadpanned.

The series launches on August 30th (day 120 of the strike, as noted byTVLine). It will run for at least 12 episodes.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have been at odds without much discernible progress since the WGA began striking on May 2nd. The WGA described the sides’ latest meeting last week as more of a “lecture” than a negotiation. “We were met with a lecture about how good their single and only counteroffer was,” the WGA negotiating committee wrote to members. “But this wasn’t a meeting to make a deal. This was a meeting to get us to cave, which is why, not 20 minutes after we left the meeting, the AMPTP released its summary of their proposals. This was the companies’ plan from the beginning — not to bargain, but to jam us. It is their only strategy — to bet that we will turn on each other.”

It looks like Instagram is about to significantly increase the maximum length of Reels posts, according to reputable mobile developer and leaker Alessandro Paluzzi. The current hard limit for these videos is three minutes, but screenshots provided by Paluzzi indicate a forthcoming leap to 10 minutes. This would effectively transform the social media site into a more robust video-sharing platform like YouTube.

This move would also allow Meta’s Instagram to further compete with rival TikTok, as the latter already lets users post videos up to ten minutes in length. TikTok and Instagram seem to be caught in some sort of ouroboros of mimicry, with one app regularly adopting features originally unveiled by the other.

As TikTok and Instagram vie for a share of the long-form video pie, YouTube’s moving in the opposite direction. It’s been making a push to gain more ground in the short-form video space, recently adding a suite of creator tools and a TikTok-esque music-discovery feed. The days when you could easily label Instagram as the “photo one”, TikTok as the “short video one” and YouTube as the “long video one” are gone. It looks like they all want to be “does everything one.”

Engadget reached out to Meta for clarification regarding the move toward long-form video content and will update this post when and if we receive a substantive response.

Meta will not suspend Cambodia’s former Prime Minister from Facebook and Instagram, declining to follow a recommendation from its Oversight Board. The board, which functions independently from the social media company, had recommended Meta suspend then-Prime Minister Hun Sen's Facebook and Instagram accounts for six months for inciting violence.  

In a response to the case published Wednesday, Meta said a long-term suspension “would not be consistent” with its policies. “Upon assessing Hun Sen’s Facebook Page and Instagram account, we determined that suspending those accounts outside our regular enforcement framework would not be consistent with our policies, including our protocol on restricting accounts of public figures during civil unrest,” the company wrote.

Meta’s handling of the high-profile case has been closely watched around the world, with many viewing it as a test of the company’s policies governing speech from politicians, who have historically had more leeway on the platform.

The company had originally asked the Oversight Board to weigh in on a video posted by Sen. The video was of a speech in which Sen told political opponents he'd "gather CPP (Cambodia People's Party) people to protest and beat you up." Meta had opted to leave up the video, citing its controversial newsworthiness policy, despite concluding it had violated the company’s own rules.

The Oversight Board overruled Meta’s decision and said the video should come down. The board also said that Sen should face a lengthy suspension. “Given the severity of the violation, Hun Sen’s history of committing human rights violations and intimidating political opponents, as well as his strategic use of social media to amplify such threats, the Board calls on Meta to immediately suspend Hun Sen’s Facebook page and Instagram account for six months," it wrote.

Meta complied, removing the video in response to the board’s decision, which is binding under the organization’s rules. The company had 60 days to respond to the board’s non-binding recommendations.

Developing…

Quirky game publisher Panic's first-ever digital games showcase is about to kick off. The event, dubbed the Panic Games Showcase, can be streamed directly on Panic’s YouTube channel starting today at 1PM ET, or you can come back right here to catch all the action.

The showcase will feature a 20-minute video presentation with Panic's games publishing roadmap, including new looks at previously announced games Nour: Play With Your Food and Despelote. During the event, you can also expect to hear about new unannounced titles, along with new game development partnerships. While there are no further details on upcoming games, we do know there will be no mention of the Playdate. It's likely that the games being discussed at this event will be for PC or more popular gaming consoles, like the PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

With this event, Panic is hoping to gain more recognition as a full-fledged game publisher by showing off the games in its pipeline. Despite its smaller size, Panic is known for pushing unconventional but interesting games that really capture players. Untitled Goose Game is one example of that, as is just about everything that’s been released for Panic’s Playdate hardware.

In a press release, co-founder Cabel Sasser expressed his excitement about the Panic Games Showcase. He also hinted at a wide variety of games, saying viewers will come away excited about at least one new game that piqued their interest.

"A lot of people out there know us as makers of Mac software like Transmit and Nova. And some people know us as the creators of the Playdate handheld video game system. And honestly, not very many people know us as the publisher of Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game”, Sasser said. “We thought it’d be fun to put on a little show and let the world know about the wonderful games we’ve been working on publishing, from amazing developers all around the world.”

Not since The Wizard hyped up an entire generation for Super Mario Bros. 3 has a film about video games felt as naked a marketing ploy as Gran Turismo. Based on an improbable true story, the movie follows Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a 20-something Gran Turismo fanatic who wins a Nissan-sponsored contest to race professionally. Even more improbable (and this is technically a spoiler, but hell, it's also real life), he manages to hold his own in the racing world. The original story was already a dream marketing win for Nissan and Sony, but now the two companies can milk it once again to bolster the mythology of Gran Turismo. Don't call it a game – it's a driving simulator.

Cynicism aside, the Gran Turismo film, directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie), successfully hits every mile marker you'd expect. Mardenborough doesn't have much support from his parents early on, but he ultimately proves them wrong. There's an entitled rival racer from the Cobra Kai school of villainy who you can't help but hate. And the movie sports genuinely thrilling race sequences, thanks to Blomkamp's inventive camera work and use of visual effects. Gran Turismo even manages to get some genuinely moving performances from David Harbour and Djimon Hounsou. It's the very definition of a crowd pleaser.

But the film also constantly reminds you that it's meant to sell you Sony products in an alien reality where Apple doesn't exist. No joke: One character is inexplicably attached to his Walkman cassette player, and he only moves on when he's gifted a modern Walkman digital music player in an overwrought emotional moment. (Outside of Hideo Kojima's Twitter feed, I've never seen a normal human use one of those things.) (Ed note: It’s debatable whether or not the guy who created Death Stranding is a “normal human”.)

Had Sony just relaxed a bit, the film would have seemed less like a desperate marketing ploy. But as it stands, I couldn't help but cringe every time we encountered another moment of corporate promotional synergy. Even before we're introduced to Mardenborough, the movie begins with a short promo reel hyping up Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi, who spent five years developing the first game in the series. It's the sort of over-produced clip you'd expect during one of Sony's PlayStation Showcase events or the Game Awards – not a theatrically released film.

Sony also doesn’t trust the audience to view actual footage from the Gran Turismo games. We see Mardenborough playing early on, but it looks far too sharp to be Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 – the title he actually competed with in real life. Instead, we're shown footage that looks closer to the incredibly realistic PlayStation 5 version of the game (though I wouldn't be surprised if it's all CG generated, instead of showing us actual gameplay). Rather than lean into the incredible lengths Sony pushed the PlayStation 3 at the time, the film sells a beautiful lie.

Of course, you can argue that every adaptation is ultimately a marketing ploy. But even the incredibly safe Super Mario Bros. Movie didn't feel as desperate as Gran Turismo. Sure, Mario was filled with oodles of references for fans, but there was a level of confidence in that movie that Gran Turismo lacks. Nintendo didn't need to push new hardware or games through that movie, its mere existence promoted the company's overall brand.

Sony Pictures Entertainment

It’s almost a miracle that Gran Turismo still manages to be enjoyable. It’s more fun than the forgettable Uncharted movie, and you can’t help but root for Mardenborough. He achieves the ultimate gamer dream: What if you could actually bring your virtual skills to the real world? It’s just a shame that the true story is fundamentally a PlayStation ad, and Sony couldn’t help but use the film to sell itself even more.

All you need to leak footage from a highly anticipated, multimillion-dollar game is an Amazon Fire TV stick and a cheap UK hotel. That massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak came from Arion Kurtaj, a member of hacking group Lapsus$. And he managed to do so while already on bail for allegedly hacking NVIDIA.

The 18-year-old infiltrated GTA creators Rockstar Games, even announcing himself as an "attacker" in the company's Slack channel. While on bail, he was not allowed internet access, but he circumvented that with a Fire TV Stick (as well as a newly purchased smartphone and keyboard) from a hotel, just outside Oxford, UK.

Further details of the attack became public following a seven-week trial and his being found guilty of hacking Rockstar, Revolut and Uber. A 17-year-old was also convicted but, unlike Kurtaj, is still out on bail. Lapsus$ comprises mostly teenagers from Brazil and the UK — Kurtaj and the unnamed 17-year-old are two of seven members arrested in the UK. Between 2021 and 2022, Lapsus$ also allegedly hacked Samsung, T-Mobile and Microsoft. The group’s motives seem to vary from attack to attack but appear to be a mix of financial gain through blackmail and sheer amusement.

It’s also unclear how much Lapsus$ has made from its cybercrimes. No companies have publicly admitted to paying the hackers.

– Mat Smith

https://www.engadget.com/gta-vi-hacker-leaked-footage-using-a-fire-tv-stick-in-a-budget-uk-hotel-room-121548381.html

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This week, Sony announced the PlayStation Portal, a $200 handheld that can only stream games from your PS5. In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben Ellman try to figure out what the heck Sony is doing. Is the Portal something gamers actually want? Or did Sony completely miss an opportunity to build a better portable? Also, we discuss why we’re excited for Armored Core VI.

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'Dune: Part Two' delayed until March 2024 following writer strikes

It'll likely be one of many movie launches pushed back this year.

The release of Dune: Part Two has been pushed back to March 15th amid ongoing writer and actor strikes. The film was originally scheduled for November 3rd, but Warner Bros. and producer Legendary Entertainment agreed to delay it over four months — likely because the film wouldn't meet its full box office potential without publicity and support from the star-studded cast. Along with Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim have been pushed back to April 12th and December 13th, 2024, respectively, largely to accommodate Dune: Part Two.

Continue reading.

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft may have discovered what powers solar winds

The spacecraft has imaged picoflare jets for the first time.

You’ve probably heard of solar winds, but the origin of these streams of charged particles remains a mystery, even decades after their discovery. The images captured last year by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument aboard ESA's and NASA's Solar Orbiter, however, may have finally given us the knowledge to explain what powers these winds. In a paper published in Science, a team of researchers described a large number of jets coming out of a dark region of the sun. They’re called picoflare jets because they contain around one-trillionth the energy the largest solar flares can generate. These picoflare jets reach speeds of around 100 kilometers per second, lasting between 20 and 100 seconds. The researchers believe they have the power to emit enough high-temperature plasma to be a substantial source of our system's solar winds.

Continue reading.

In movies, a hacker typically sits at a large desk with a slew of cutting-edge technology in front of them. In real life, it turns out all you need is an Amazon Fire TV stick, smartphone, keyboard and mouse to steal and leak clips from a game like the hotly anticipated yet to be released Grand Theft Auto IV. That's exactly what Arion Kurtaj, a member of hacking group Lapsus$, did while already on bail for allegedly hacking NVIDIA, the BBC reports. The 18-year-old infiltrated Rockstar Games, which created GTA VI, going so far as to announce himself as an "attacker" in the company's slack channel. The scene of the crime? A UK Travelodge hotel officials had placed him in.

Kurtaj was moved to the hotel after hackers "doxxed" him, releasing detailed information about him and his family online, and compromising his safety. While there he was allowed no internet access — something he used the Fire TV Stick to get around. 

Further details of Kurtaj's illegal stunt became public following a seven-week trial and his being found guilty of hacking Rockstar, neobank Revolut and Uber. A 17-year-old was also convicted but, unlike Kurtaj, is still out on bail. The two individuals are autistic, and psychiatrists deemed them ineligible to stand trial. This meant that the jury only weighed in on if they believed the crimes were committed, not if they were done with criminal intent.

Lapsus$, referred to in court as a group of "digital bandits," is believed to be comprised mostly of teenagers from Brazil and the UK — Kurtaj and the unnamed 17-year-old are two of seven members arrested in the UK. Between 2021 and 2022, Lapsus$ also allegedly hacked Samsung, T-Mobile and Microsoft. Though the group requested ransoms, it's unclear how much it made from these exploits, if much at all.

The release of Dune: Part Two has been pushed back to March 15th amid ongoing writer and actor strikes, according to Variety. The hotly anticipated film was originally scheduled for November 3rd, but Warner Bros. and producer Legendary Entertainment agreed to delay it over four months — likely because the film wouldn't meet its full box office potential without publicity from the star-studded cast. 

The studio and production company held out on delaying the film as long as possible, according The Hollywood Reporter, but would have needed to start advertising the film by early September. It reportedly hoped the extra time would allow the cast, which includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken, to participate in a full marketing push.

Along with Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim have been pushed back to April 12th, 2024 and December 13th, 2024, respectively. Those dates were shuffled largely to accommodate Dune: Part Two. 

The ongoing labor actions by writers and actors in Hollywood are a result of long-simmering tensions over a number of issues, but particularly due to residual payments from Netflix and other streaming platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery was at the center of these in the recent past, as it elected to release some films either directly to its HBO Max (now MAX) streaming platform with zero or limited theatrical releases. However, CEO David Zaslav said last year that the company "will fully embrace theatrical" going forward. 

Dune: Part One performed well enough at the box office with a $402 million gross, but hype for the sequel is much higher. "Part One is more of a contemplative movie. Part Two is an action-packed, epic war movie. It is much more dense. We went to all new locations," said director Denis Villeneuve. 

The Call of Duty franchise continues its Fortnite-ification by announcing the latest playable character will be Tomb Raider star Lara Croft. The fictional grave robber will appear in Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare II, joining recent real-life playable characters like Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Durant and various characters from the Prime Video show The Boys, among others.

Publisher Activision hasn’t announced details as to how you get Lara Croft on your side, though it’s likely you’ll have to purchase some sort of bundle to access the renowned ruins ruiner. For instance, Minaj was available as part of the $10 season 5 battle pack. There will also likely be Croft-related items, skins and weapons for sale, though her signature dual-wielded pistols should be part of the initial buy-in.

Additionally, the publisher hasn’t announced when Croft would officially debut as a battle-tested combatant. There’s a mid-season update coming for season 5, which would be as good a place as any to introduce the treasure hunter. Engadget reached out to Activision for clarification regarding pricing and availability.

In related news, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIIis rapidly approaching, hitting consoles in November. As for Croft, the last mainline Tomb Raider game was 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Developer Crystal Dynamics, along with Amazon, announced in December that a new game is on the way and that it'll be a “single-player, narrative-driven adventure” built using unreal Engine 5. Amazon is also making a Tomb Raider TV show, though who knows when that’ll premiere.