Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is both a prequel and a spinoff, depicting the adventures of the original USS Enterprise before James Kirk assumed command. It features the return of Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Spock, all reprising their roles from Discovery. The cast will be filled out by new actors playing other characters from the original series, with Celia Rose Gooding as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel and Babs Olusanmokun as Doctor M'Benga.

Unlike Discovery, however, Strange New Worlds is intended to be more episodic, with standalone installments similar to TOS and TNG. New characters joining the cast include Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh and Melissa Navia as Lieutenant Erica Ortegas. No premiere date has been given yet, but it's likely to debut after Prodigy, Discovery and Picard finish their upcoming seasons. 

You can watch the Star Trek Day event live on YouTube, while you'll need a subscription to Paramount+ to watch Strange New Worlds when it drops next year.

Between fighting a war with the Klingons, traveling to the Mirror Universe and jumping forward in time 900 years, the USS Discovery hasn't done a lot of actual exploring in its first three seasons. That'll hopefully change in its fourth year with Michael Burnham in the captain's chair, and the season premiere drops on Paramount+ November 18th.

No new footage was shown during tonight's Star Trek Day event, but interviews with some of the cast hinted at an increased role for Hugh Culber, as well as the return of fan-favorite Saru. You can watch the Star Trek Day event live on YouTube, while you'll need a subscription to Paramount+ to watch Discovery when it drops later this fall.

Today marks 55 years since Star Trek debuted on TV way back in 1966, so Paramount+ threw a huge party to celebrate — as well as to reveal a few tidbits about upcoming shows and seasons. First up was the Nickelodeon Studios cartoon, Prodigy. We got our first full trailer, as well as the date it will hit the streaming service, at the end of October. 

The show is about a bunch of wayward teens who find an abandoned Starfleet vessel, the USS Protostar, hidden underground. They don't know how it got there or what to do with it, but luckily a hologram of Voyager's erstwhile captain is there to guide them.

Voice actors include Dee Bradley Baker and John Noble, as well as the return of Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway.

Developing...

In 2019, Google parent, Alphabet Inc, terminated the employment of two software engineers, Laurence Berland and Rebecca Rivers, in a move that sparked company-wide protests and accusations of retaliation for the pair's efforts to organize their workplace. On Wednesday the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it had approved a proposed settlement between the company and Berland.

While neither Berland's legal council nor Alphabet could be reached for comment, Bloomberg notes that this agreement does not impact the NLRB's continuing investigation into Alphabet's alleged firing of other employees who protested the company's coordination with US Customs and Border Patrol, which is currently being argued in a San Francisco courtroom. 

Per previous testimony in Berland's case, Alphabet argued that the firings were due directed at those “who abused their privileged access to internal systems, such as our security tools or colleagues’ calendars.” Berland, in his defense, countered that "I told them that I accessed the calendars because I was concerned that our rights were being violated."

Netflix promised a big movie every week in 2021, and it's clearly determined to end the year with its most ostentatious movie yet. The streaming service has posted a teaser trailer for Don't Look Up, a satire where "star-studded cast" is an understatement. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as a grad student and professor who try desperately to warn the public of a life-ending comet in an era where 24-hour news and social media lead to gnat-like attention spans. Those two are just the start of the headliners, though — seemingly everyone involved is a big name.

Meryl Streep is the President and counts Jonah Hill as her son, while Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry host a relentlessly optimistic morning show. The flick also features Ron Perlman, Mark Rylance, Dune's Timothée Chalamet and even two pop stars (Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi), among others. The Big Short's Adam McKay directed and wrote the title.

Don't Look Up reaches Netflix on December 24th, but it's arriving in "select" theaters on December 10th. The company is clearly hoping for more Oscars glory given that timing. Not that Netflix will need critical praise. The film-a-week strategy has revolved around enticing viewers with star power, even in "dead" months like January — any statuettes from late-2021 releases are just a bonus.

The National Association of Music Merchants has delayed the 2022 Winter NAMM Show. The annual event, which didn’t go forward as an in-person gathering in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will now take place between June 3rd and 5th, instead of January 20th and 23rd as previously announced. The trade show will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

The change in date means there won’t be separate NAMM Summer and Winter events. Instead, they’ll be the one event, known as The NAMM Show, that will combine the best of both conferences. NAMM says it’s postponing Winter NAMM due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as to account for new product developments and launches.

“As the health and safety of our members remains top of mind, and after carefully listening to companies here in the US and around the world, the new dates will help members maximize their opportunity and accelerate what has arguably been a transformative time both in new products and in how they come to market,” Joe Lamond, the CEO and president of NAMM, said.

Much like in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has forced many event organizers to change their 2021 plans. In August, for instance, the New York Auto Show was canceled. More recently, Riot Games announced it was moving the 2021 League of Legends World Championship from China to Europe due to travel restrictions.

Piranha Games is bringing MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries to Sony consoles. The studio will release the game and its Heroes of the Inner Sphere expansion to PlayStation 4 and PS5 on September 23rd, it announced on Wednesday over on the PlayStation Blog. The release marks a significant milestone for the franchise. The last time you could play a BattleTech game on a PlayStation console was back in 1997 when Activision released MechWarrior 2: Arcade Combat Edition on PSone.

In addition to a handful of PlayStation-specific features, including support for the adaptive triggers on Sony’s DualSense controller, the PS4 and PS5 release will feature all the previously released enhancements for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. That means you’ll be able to play the game with people on other platforms and check out the DLC campaign if you join a co-op match hosted by someone who owns the expansion.

Back in January, Moog updated its Model 15 app to support Macs running Big Sur, marking the first time one of the company’s soft synths had come to desktop. It was a significant step forward in terms of accessibility. However, the synth ran as an Audio Unit v3 plugin, meaning you couldn’t use it in conjunction with non-Apple digital audio workstations like Abelton.

That’s changing today with the Model 15 app now available within a VST wrapper. Short for Virtual Studio Technology, VST is the most widely supported standard for DAW synthesizer and effect unit plugins. As such, you’re no longer limited to GarageBand, Logic and MainStage if you want to dabble with the modular synth. Unfortunately, if you're a Windows user, you still can't install the software on your computer. You will have to look to either Moog's iOS app or one of the many other modular synths you can download online.

Google is expanding its printing options for Photos, including more flexibility for ordering prints to your home. Until now, the only way to get prints of your images directly from Google was to use the AI-driven premium print service, which can automatically select 10 of your best images each month and send them to you. Otherwise, you'd have to pick them up from a CVS, Walgreens or Walmart. Now, though, you can order and receive as many prints as you want at your casa. 

In addition, there are more size options for Google Photos prints and canvases. Along with the previous 4x6-inch, 5x7 and 8x10 formats, Google can now print and send your photos in 11x14, 12x18, 16x20 and 20x30. It will add more canvas sizes in the next few weeks as well. You'll be able to order canvases in 8x10, 16x16, 20x30, 24x36, 30x40 and 36x36.

The Biden administration's focus on science will include a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence. The Commerce Department, National AI Initiative Office and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy are forming a National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC) to advise the President and federal officials on AI-related issues.

NAIAC will provide guidance on several AI concerns, including "competitiveness," employment, scientific progress, the viability of national strategy and future initiative revisions. The committee will also address ethical issues ranging from workforce equity to accountability and algorithmic bias.

Members will come from a "broad and interdisciplinary" pool including academics, companies, non-profits and federal labs. They'll be accepted on a continuous basis, with any eventual vacancies filled as they pop up.

This isn't the first major organization influencing the US government's use of AI. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence has been urging officials to treat AI as a major concern. Members of Congress have also been pushing for greater adoption of AI in government. However, NAIAC could make AI a frequent consideration in government policy, not to mention shape AI-specific policies.

Whether or not the committee satisfies enough people is another matter. Some in Congress want hard limits on the use of AI, including a Democrat call for an outright ban on facial recognition in federal government. It should still lead to more informed decisions on AI — it's just uncertain whether or not those decisions will include all the right voices.