Pokémon developer Game Freak has confirmed its servers were hacked in August. The breach meant internal materials — from source codes to early and even scrapped character designs — were circulating on social media over the weekend.
Leaked documents and images flooded Reddit and X after Centro Leaks began dumping it all on Saturday afternoon. It allegedly includes source codes for past games and codenames for the Switch 2 and the upcoming Gen 10 Pokémon games. There are also references to a Pokémon MMO, future movies and a new anime series. The leak revealed tons of beta character designs and concept art.
Moflin is an AI emotional support pet that thrives on cuddles.
Casio
Casio (of watch and calculator fame) is taking pre-orders in Japan for Moflin, the adorable robotic plushie with AI “emotional capabilities,” which debuted during CES 2021. Moflin, developed in a partnership with the Japanese startup Vanguard Industries, is meant to work like an emotional support pet — and is as fluffy as it looks.
Last week, robot vacuums across the country were hacked, allowing attackers to not only control the robovacs, but use their speakers to hurl racial slurs and abusive comments at anyone nearby. Specifically, it was the Ecovacs Deebot X2s, which has a reputation for being easy to hack. The company says it’s developed a patch to eliminate the security flaw — but that won’t roll out until November. Maybe October is a messy house kind of a month?
Redbox is dead, but its cuboid corpses remain in malls and shops nationwide. The machines are heavy and cumbersome, with a former Redbox executive suggesting it costs $500 to remove one kiosk. Note: Some machines are actually embedded in concrete. Some devotees have taken to adopting them regardless. Yet another note: These boxes use massive amounts of energy. Walgreens told a judge it costs the company $184,000 each month to power 5,400 kiosks, roughly $35 per month for a single machine. That was fine 10 years ago, when the company drew in $2 billion in annual revenue.
Recently, Samsung confirmed that One UI will arrive on eligible smart TVs soon. The new firmware brings new features and offers a more consistent experience across the brand’s ecosystem of products. Now, as promised, Samsung has begun rolling out One UI for smart TVs, perhaps even faster than expected.
One UI for Samsung’s smart TVs still runs on Tizen
Samsung has become one of the brands closest to Google. The company already uses Android on its Galaxy phones, but it also worked with Google on Wear OS 3, ditching Tizen OS for smartwatches. However, the company continues to use Tizen for its own smart TVs, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon. In fact, the One UI update for TVs is a custom skin on top of Tizen instead of Android TV.
The One UI update for Samsung smart TVs is based on Tizen 8.0, which replaces the Tizen 7.0 that eligible models were still running on. It is currently seeking models on the S90C and S90D series (2023 and 2024). Recently, the company announced an expansion of software support for its TVs (starting with some 2022 models) for up to 7 years, in line with its flagship mobile support policy.
What’s new in the update?
After the update, the eligible TVs have a very similar look to that of Galaxy smartphones. This includes UI elements, app design, and icons. Of course, there are also several new features designed to improve the user experience. The official changelog mentions improved web navigation thanks to an updated web engine (108), a new “For you” tab, and “Watch Later” now being accessible from the content details screen. These options offer more possibilities for organizing your favorite content.
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One UI turns supported smart TVs into a hub from which to control Samsung’s smart home and mobile ecosystem. You can use the same keyboard and mouse with multiple compatible Galaxy products linked to your Samsung account. You will also see health data obtained directly from your Galaxy smartwatch. The Smart Things app also allows you to use IoT cameras. The company has improved the programming guide with a new UI design that makes it more comfortable and convenient to use. The guide now includes a new “Samsung TV Plus” category.
Enhanced interoperability between Samsung TVs and mobile devices
One UI updates the “Game Bar” look to its latest design found on Galaxy phones. Additionally, the “ConnecTime” feature enhances interoperability between Galaxy TVs and mobile devices. For example, you can access video calls, messaging, and mobile screen sharing for TV and mobile. Samsung upgraded the WiFi Speaker Surround Setup to Q-Symphony. Lastly, there are new security measures that involve the use of a Samsung account.
is pushing further into hardware with its first set of earbuds. The owner’s $170 Ola Friend buds will only be available in China for now. They link to the company’s generative AI assistant, Doubao, which can be activated with a voice command.
According to the , wearers will be able to use the open-ear buds as a tour guide while traveling and to practice English (among other things) after they’re paired with the Doubao mobile app. The publication notes that Doubao is currently the most popular GAI app in China, with more than 47 million monthly active users in September.
The debut of Ola Friend follows ByteDance completing its purchase of Oladance, a maker of wearable audio devices, this year. ByteDance also owns VR headset maker .
The earbuds are available in four colors, purple, silver, black and white. Pre-orders are open today and Ola Friend will ship on October 17.
Proton Pass, one of the best password managers, has launched a new family tier to simplify credential management and storage for parents and kids alike.
The Pass Family plan is being offered for a limited time at $3.99 per month (billed annually), and includes all of the features of the Pass Plus plan, but for six users instead of one.
Families will be able to benefit from integrated two-factor authentication (2FA), secure vault and link sharing, dark web monitoring and advanced account protection, all managed from an admin panel.
Family password protection
The new Proton Pass family tier makes sharing credentials for streaming services and household accounts easier and more secure, while also providing vaults for storing personal information such as emergency contact information that can be shared with other users. Each user account is segmented by a unique email address to mitigate data breaches and identity theft.
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Password sharing has quickly gone from a big security no to a fact of life, especially within families. Statistics show that 43% of Americans share at least one password with someone else, emphasizing the need for secure password sharing tools.
“Password sharing among family members is common, but it also exposes them to significant cybersecurity risks,” said Son Nguyen Kim, Product Lead for Proton Pass. “The Pass Family plan offers a safer, more organized way for families to manage their online identities, combining Proton’s high standards of privacy and security with user-friendly features that everyone can use.”
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Fall means pumpkin spice, preparing for the holiday season, raking leaves, searching for Halloween costumes, and of course, curling up with hot new TV shows premiering and returning with new seasons. This October is busy with the return of popular shows like The Diplomat, What We Do in the Shadows, Law & Order, Abbott Elementary, and more. But there are also exciting new shows being added to the mix that you might not even have heard about yet.
As you’re planning how to spend your much deserved downtime and, more importantly, what to watch, don’t let these three hidden October streaming TV shows fly under your radar. They’re ones you won’t want to miss.
Loved Ella Purnell in Fallout and Yellowjackets? Check out her next project, a British dark comedy drama based on the C.J. Skuse novel that many are dubbing a gender-swapped version of Dexter. She’s Rhiannon in Sweetpea, a young woman on the brink. She feels ignored and unseen. Her boss and colleagues treat her like dirt and don’t take her seriously. An old high school bully has returned to torment her. She can’t help but fantasize about murdering the people who have done her wrong. One day, Rhiannon has a full-on breakdown and actually starts doing it. When news of a sadistic serial killer starts to raise Rhiannon’s profile in indirect ways, how can she possibly stop now?
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Sweetpea is a female serial killer series with dark comedic undertones about a woman who sets out to show everyone (albeit secretly), once and for all, that she’s no “sweetpea.” It’s always the quiet ones, as they say, and Rhiannon is tired of feeling invisible. With a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score following its first episode, Sweetpea solidifies Purnell’s position as one of the most talented up-and-coming actors of this generation.
If you enjoy Billy Crystal’s comedic work in movies, you might find it difficult to see him in such a dramatic role. But he nails it in Before, as expected, alongside equally talented co-stars Judith Light, Rosie Perez, and young Jacobi Jupe. Crystal is Eli a child psychologist grieving the recent death of this wife. When he meets with a new client, a young boy named Noah (Jupe), it seems as though this boy, who suffers from violent behaviors and hallucinations, has some type of cosmic connection to Eli and wants to tell him something. But Eli can’t figure out what’s going on, and as he dives deeper, the plot gets more and more troubling.
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Before is the perfect creepy, bumps-in-the-night show to watch as you gear up for Halloween. It premieres with the first two episodes a week before that spooky occasion and continues weekly through December 20.
When you hear satirical superhero show, you probably immediately think of Amazon Prime Video series The Boys. If you want something that angles more to comedy than raunch and gore, check out The Franchise. This satirical comedy from Armando Iannucci (Veep) and Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Spectre) centers around the crew that works within a superhero film franchise led by assistant director Daniel (Himesh Patel). But this isn’t Marvel; it’s a franchise that’s flailing and this crew needs a Hail Mary to save it.
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Peeling back the curtain behind-the-scenes of the making of such movies, it’s like a version of 30 Rock for movie-making versus sketch comedy TV. The Franchise is the kind of show that will have you both laughing and wondering how much is inspired by real life and how much is embellished (or not). From managing actors’ eccentricities to dealing with inflated egos and being weighed down by the immense pressure to succeed, every element is covered in comedic fashion. The Franchise may just become your new favorite show for light-hearted laughs.
Crude oil futures fell more than 2% on Monday after a press briefing by China’s finance minister disappointed the market.
Traders have been banking on more robust stimulus in China to boost the world’s second-largest economy. Soft demand in the world’s largest crude importer has weighed on the market for months.
“China’s monetary stimulus measures failed to stimulate and the weekend’s pledge from the finance ministry to borrow more was long on cliches and phrases but short on reassuring and convincing details,” Tamas Varga, analyst at oil broker PVM, told clients in a note.
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Here are Monday’s energy prices:
West Texas Intermediate November contract: $73.93 per barrel, down $1.63, or 2.16%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has gained about 3%.
Brent December contract: $77.44 per barrel, down $1.60, or 2.02%. Year to date, the global benchmark is little changed.
RBOB Gasoline November contract: $2.1044 per gallon, down 2.19%. Year to date, gasoline is little changed.
Natural Gas November contract: $2.572 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.28%. Year to date, gas is ahead more than 2%.
The market, meanwhile, continues to monitor the Middle East in anticipation of a retaliatory strike by Israel against Iran. U.S. officials told NBC News that Israel has narrowed down the targets it plans to hit. These include military and energy infrastructure, the officials told NBC.
The latest Chrome Canary build (131.0.6772.0) showcases this revamped Chromebottom bar look, which positions the address bar at the bottom of the screen. This change enhances user experience by making navigation easier and more intuitive.
Chrome will get a bottom bar (again) to simplify navigation
The current implementation is straightforward. Google has relocated the address bar, allowing users to access it more conveniently. While this new layout provides a fresh perspective, it does not significantly alter the existing user interface. The three-dot overflow menu remains unchanged, still organized from top to bottom. Similarly, the tab switcher retains its original format, leaving some users curious about potential future updates.
As users interact with the Chrome bottom bar look, early reports indicate some minor usability issues. However, overall functionality remains intact, allowing users to navigate without major disruptions.
Historically, Chrome has attempted various designs, including an earlier version that also featured a bottom bar. This attempt, which began in 2016, evolved into a more complex interface over time. The new Chrome bottom bar look seeks to simplify this experience without introducing additional layers of complexity.
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Currently, other interface elements, such as the tab switcher, remain as they are. Observers are keen to see whether Google will refine these components as they move forward with this design.
You can already test it out, but only via the Chrome Canary app
Users can download Chrome Canary from the Google Play Store to try out the new Chrome bottom bar look. It’s essential to note that this version is experimental and may contain bugs, making it unsuitable for regular daily use. Once installed, users can activate the feature by enabling a specific flag. They should enter the following URL into their browser: chrome://flags/#android-bottom-toolbar. After enabling the flag, a simple restart of the browser is required. Users can then navigate to Settings > Address bar and select the “Bottom” option, 9to5Google reported.
Last year, Chrome for iOS adopted a similar bottom address bar, suggesting that this design shift could become permanent for Android as well. While many welcome the change, there are concerns that Google should avoid overcomplicating the browser.
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