If you're a fan of classic Star Trek games, GOG has some new offerings that may grab your attention. The site now offers no less than six new titles in its store: Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (2000), Star Trek: Elite Force II (2003), Star Trek: Bridge Commander (2002), Star Trek: Starfleet command III (2002), Star Trek: Hidden Evil (1999) and Star Trek: Away Team (2001). On top of that, GOG will soon add another two games, Star Trek: Armada and Star Trek: Armada II.

The additions help mark the 55th anniversary of the original show, along with the 100th birthday of the late Gene Roddenberry, GOG wrote. As it noted, the first text-based Star Trek computer games first appeared in 1971, "with many official and even more unofficial releases appearing in arcades, on Apple I and II computers, various models of Atari, the Commodore 64 and all the way to DOS and Windows PCs" — a testament to the staying power of the franchise. 

So how do these games rank in the Star Trek pantheon? Games like Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Star Trek: Online are perhaps better known, to be sure. But as GOG writes, "an absolute golden era of Star Trek games began at the end of the ’90s and the beginning of the 2000s with new games landing every few months."

Particularly, Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force and Star Trek: Bridge Commander are considered to be some of the best Star Trek titles out there, as Screen Rant notes. Many of those titles have become unavailable and are unplayable on modern machines, as well. "This changes now with [these games] releasing for the first time in digital distribution," GOG said. All the games are now available in the US (and elsewhere) for $10. 

Release Radar is one of the most popular algorithmically generated playlists on Spotify, and for good reason. The mix is updated weekly with a collection of new material from the artists you listen to often. The playlist has been keeping users in the loop for five years at this point, and now the streaming service is opening it up to advertisers. 

This is actually the third playlist Spotify has offered up for ads, joining Discover Weekly and On Repeat as potential sponsorship opportunities for brands. With Release Radar, Disney+ will be the first to jump on board in the US, promoting its Billie Eilish film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles. Spotify says free users will see ads in the form of audio, video and graphics and direct them to the playlist. Once inside, logos will appear on the playlist art along with messages from the sponsor at each ad break (audio and video). Along with music-focused advertisements, you'll likely see sponsorships from gaming, automotive, fashion and tech brands as well as phone service providers. However, Spotify explains the opportunity is open to all companies, not just those that fit in the aforementioned categories. As always, Premium users won't see, or hear, any of the sponsored content.

Release Radar has a captive audience. The playlist has been streamed over 16 billion times globally since its launch in 2016. It's a a top-three personalized playlist for Spotify users in several regions, including North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Most listeners are 18-29 year olds, and Spotify says that group accounts for over 50 percent of Release Radar streaming. 

Free users in the US should be seeing the Disney+ sponsorship on Release Radar soon, if you haven't already. If you stream on the ad-supported tier outside of the States, sponsored messages will appear for you as well: the playlist is available for brands to advertise in 31 markets around the world. 

Snap is introducing a fun new way for Snapchat users to track and celebrate the birthdays of their friends. The company’s new Birthday Mini gives you one place to see a list of all the upcoming birthdays of people you follow on the app. You can either see them organized by how soon they’re coming up or by zodiac signs. The tool comes courtesy of the Minis functionality Snap introduced last summer. And as with all other Minis, you can find this one by tapping the rocket icon in Snapchat or by searching for it individually.

For privacy reasons, the Mini won’t display the birth year of your friend nor their exact age. Similarly, other Snapchat users won’t see that same information about you. You also won’t see the birthdays of friends who haven’t consented to display them in the app.

The Birthday Mini is the first one to include lens sharing, a feature that allows you to unlock special themed lenses you can send as snaps to your friends or include in your stories. When someone sees them in those contexts, they can swipe up to join the Mini. It’s a small feature addition, to be sure, but one that makes keeping track of everyone’s special day easier. Previously, Snap would indicate your friend was celebrating their birthday through an emoji in your friends feed. You can access the Birthday Mini starting today.

I thought BMW’s bizarre crystal sculpture car dash was going to be the weirdest vehicle of the week, but Hyundai thought otherwise. Not only does it involve next-gen fuel cell technology — a car fuel system that’s struggled in the face of EVs — but it also introduces Trailer Drone to the world. This cab-less "hydrogen-powered container transportation system” can apparently function entirely autonomously, according to Hyundai.

Hyundai

On arrival, the trailer could automatically unload itself by lifting on to legs, yes like a real-life Transformer, while the e-Bogie driving frame below dashes off to its next task. And yet, I think betting on hydrogen fuel cell tech still seems the most outlandish part, at least right now.

— Mat Smith

It’s time for the next iPhone event

September 14th.

Apple has announced a "California Streaming" event on September 14th at 1 PM ET. The invitation doesn't offer many clues, but there are already plenty of rumors about what you can expect for the new iPhone, updated Apple Watch. Those have so far included a smaller notch, an always-on display and improved cameras across the line. We might also get new ultra-wide sensors and more camera stabilization. It would include the seemingly obligatory chip upgrade and a slightly larger battery. That last one would be music to my ears.

Continue reading.

Four new iPhones are on their way, according to FCC filing

Interesting.

An FCC filing for a revised MagSafe charger, spotted by MacRumors and 9to5Mac, suggests four "New Phone" items will work with it, alongside last year’s iPhone 12 family.

Unfortunately, this FCC filing doesn't identify the four "New Phone" items it used for testing, but it's very much possible they're the current generation's direct successors, meaning the iPhone mini — my favorite — gets another shot at glory.

Continue reading.

Impossible's plant-based nuggets are now available in select restaurants

It'll be in a few restaurants this week and in grocery stores later this month.

Impossible Foods’ plant-based “chicken” nuggets are now available to buy and gorge on. Mostly made of soy protein and sunflower oil, the Impossible Chicken Nuggets will initially be available in select restaurants across the country, and then sold in grocery stores in the frozen aisle later this month.

Notable restaurants that will be serving them include David Chang’s Fuku in New York City, Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster in Harlem and Miami, Sean Brock’s Joyland in Nashville, Tal Ronnen’s Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles.

Read our taste test here.

'The Matrix Resurrections' teasers keep changing with different clips from the film

It’s like a trailer, but on shuffle.

Warner Bros.

Ahead of September 9th, when the first full trailer for The Matrix Resurrections is set to appear, Warner Bros. has launched a teaser for the upcoming film. The website, whatisthematrix.com, offers a first look at Neo's latest adventure.

In a call back to the first film, you'll see a red and blue pill on the screen when you first visit the website. Each offers a different narration of several cuts from the movie. But, refresh the site and you get a different barrage of clips and cuts. Time to start sleuthing.

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Don’t you want a rideable robot unicorn?

Just like a unicorn, it doesn't exist. Yet.

Xpeng

Chinese EV maker Xpeng has teased a robot unicorn for children to ride. As SCMP notes, the quadruped will take advantage of Xpeng's experience with autonomous driving and other AI tasks to navigate multiple terrain types, recognize objects and provide "emotional interaction."

The company is shy on most other details, but the design looks and trots like a cuter, more kid-friendly version of Boston Robotics' Spot. It's about as tall as a child, which I read as meaning I won’t be able to ride it.

Continue reading.

The biggest news stories you might have missed

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Polestar made a working version of its electric cargo sled

Technics made a black version of its SL-1200 turntable you can actually buy

How to make the most of that Instant Pot you just bought

The fight to study what happens on Facebook

Attackers are actively exploiting a Microsoft remote code execution vulnerability using malicious Office files, the tech giant has warned. The vulnerability known as CVE-2021-40444 affects Windows Servers from version 2008 and Windows 7 through 10. What attackers are doing is sending potential victims an Office file and tricking them into opening it. That file automatically opens Internet Explorer to load the bad actor's web page, which has an ActiveX control that downloads malware onto the victim's computer.

Several security researchers reported the zero-day attacks to Microsoft. One of them, Haifei Li of EXPMON, told BleepingComputer that the method is 100 percent reliable — all it would take to infect a system is for the victim to open the malicious file. In Li's case, the attack they came across used a .DOCX document. Microsoft has yet to roll out a security patch for the vulnerability, but it has published mitigation methods to prevent infection. 

The tech giant says Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can both detect the vulnerability and prevent infection, so users need to keep them updated and running. Further, it advises disabling all ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer to render it inactive for all websites. Microsoft's security warning contains information how to do that, which involves updating IE's registry and rebooting the computer.

After launching it in Go stores and then bringing it to larger Fresh supermarkets, Amazon's cashierless "Just Walk Out" tech will soon arrive in two Whole Foods locations. The service, which lets you pick up goods from shelves and (yep) just walk out, is coming to new stores in Washington DC and Sherman Oaks, California next year, the company announced. 

"By collaborating with Amazon to introduce Just Walk Out shopping at these two Whole Foods Market stores, our customers will be able to... save time by skipping the checkout line," said Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey. 

As we've detailed previously, Just Walk Out uses computer vision, sensors and AI to let you walk into a store, sign in with an app, fill up your bags and leave without the need to join a checkout line. On top of using the tech in its own Go and Fresh stores, Amazon signed a deal last year to license its technology to third-party retailers. 

The technology will work the same at Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon. Shoppers can opt to use the tech when they enter the store by scanning an app, inserting a debit card linked to their Amazon account, or by placing their palm over the Amazon One palm-scanning system. 

Unions have proclaimed that Amazon's cashierless tech will cost workers jobs, but Amazon said the new Whole Foods locations will "employ a comparable number of team members as existing Whole Foods stores of similar sizes." Rather, employees will be able to "spend even more time interacting with customers and delivering a great shopping experience," Amazon said in a press release. 

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 devices did very well in their home country, and market research groups like Counterpoint believe foldable shipments are bound to grow in the coming years. Foldable devices might soon no longer be niche products, and LG has developed a new material that could help make that a reality. LG Chem has designed a new type of cover window — that is, the outermost pre-installed part of displays protecting them from impact — that it says is as hard as glass while also having the capability to prevent fold impressions on the connecting part of a device. 

The company calls the material "Real Folding Window," and it's made of PET film coated on both sides with a new coating technology it developed. A spokesperson explained: "Unlike existing polyimide films and tempered glass-type materials, the cover window that applied LG Chem's new coating technologies will maximize flexibility, while also providing optimized solutions for foldable phones such as making improvements to chronic issues like fold impressions on the connecting part of the screen."

In addition, the Real Folding Window can be folded both outwards and inwards unlike current counterparts that are optimized to be bent one way. LG Chem says it's thinner than tempered glass, is priced competitively and has been tested to be able to endure being folded over 200,000 times. 

While the coating on both sides is only a few micrometers thick, the company is developing another type of Real Folding Window that doesn't use PET film. The idea is to create a very thin cover window for use in devices like foldable phones and rollable displays. LG Chem is planning to start mass producing the Real Folding Window in 2022 and to start selling them the year after that. 

HBO Max is heading to Europe. Back in June, the streaming service finally became available outside the US when it expanded to 39 territories across Latin America and the Caribbean. Now, the WarnerMedia-owned platform is making its debut in Europe on October 26th, starting with six countries in particular: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain and Andorra. 

As part of the service's phased rollout, 14 other European regions will get access to it next year, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. WarnerMedia is also planning more territory launches for 2022, though it didn't say whether it's making the streaming service available in more continents. 

Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International, said in a statement:

"This is a historic moment as HBO Max lands in Europe. WarnerMedia movies and series like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and The Big Bang Theory are passionately consumed by fans all across Europe, and HBO Max has been created to provide them with the most intuitive and convenient viewing experience to watch these and a diverse range of other amazing titles."

HBO Max typically offers two types of plans: Standard and Mobile. In the US, there's also an ad-supported tier that costs $10 a month instead of $15. As always, its subscription prices in Europe will vary per region, though it will likely be around that much, as well. WarnerMedia will reveal more details, including the service's prices and content offering in Europe, at a virtual launch event in October.

PayPal is continuing its push into buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services with the acquisition of Japanese company Paidy for 300 billion yen ($2.7 billion), Bloomberg has reported. That represents its second largest acquisition to date after the $4 billion dollar purchase of online coupon aggregator Honey. 

BNPL services let users divide purchases into multiple payments with paying any interest. Instead, PayPal and other providers make money by charging fees to merchants when a consumer buys a product, much as credit card providers do. PayPal's move follows Jack Dorsey's Square much larger acquisition of Australian BNPL firm AfterPay for $29 billion. 

Paidy differs from other BNPL firms in that it allows Japanese consumers to purchase items online and then pay them off in person at local convenience stores. PayPal doesn't currently offer a BNPL service in Japan, so the acquisition will help it break into that market. 

“Paidy pioneered buy-now-pay-later solutions tailored to the Japanese market,” said PayPal Japan chief Peter Kenevan. “Combining Paidy’s brand, capabilities and talented team with PayPal’s expertise, resources and global scale will create a strong foundation to accelerate our momentum in this strategically important market.”

Lenovo has announced a new lineup of PCs, tablets and monitors at Tech World 2021. The most notable of the bunch is the IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon — a 14-inch Windows 11 laptop that weighs 2.37 lbs and is equipped with an OLED display made by Samsung. As its name implies, the device's chassis is made of carbon fiber and magnesium alloy for lightness and strength. Its display has a QHD+ resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio, with features that include a 90Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision and true black certification. Customers can also opt to get a touchscreen version that's strengthened with Gorilla Glass. 

Lenovo

The device is powered by AMD's Ryzen 7 5800U Series Mobile Processors (up to 8-core) with AMD Radeon Graphics, and customers can get the NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics card as an optional install. Buyers can also equip the laptop with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Other features include up to 14.5 hours of battery life, WiFi 6 and built-in Alexa support with an Alexa Show experience. It will be available in Cloud Grey starting in October 2021 with prices starting at $1,290.

Another notable device in the brand's new lineup is the Chromebook Duet 5. It's a 2-in-1 laptop-tablet hybrid running Chrome OS with access to Google Play. The device has a laptop-grade keyboard that can be detached from its 13.3-inch OLED display and is powered by the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 SoC. It comes with 256GB of SSD storage and up to 8GB of memory. The Duet 5 will also be available in October in Storm Grey or Abyss Blue for at least $430.

Those who prefer a larger laptop could get the ldeaPad Slim 7 Pro instead. It's a 16-inch Windows 11 laptop with a QHD IPS screen, powered by AMD's Ryzen 7 5800H Mobile Processors. The device can be equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU and can have up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. It will be out in October for at least $1,449.