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Editor's note: Check out our oft-updated live blog for all new developments about the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage.
It was a truly awful day for CrowdStrike.
There's almost zero chance you missed it, but, in case you did, an issue with a software update from the cybersecurity firm caused a meltdown of the world's IT infrastructure, putting countless Microsoft machines into the Blue Screen of Death. Nearly every industry was affected. Thousands of flights were canceled, hospitals turned away patients, and banks were affected.
Toward the end of the day Friday, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz put out a statement. Though hardly his first for the day, he did delve into a few new territories.
"I want to sincerely apologize directly to all of you for today’s outage," Kurtz wrote in a statement. "All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation. We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority."
The apology seems pointed, considering that Kurtz and CrowdStrike were criticized early on Friday for the lack of an apology over the massive issue.
Later, Kurtz noted there could be danger ahead.
He wrote:
"We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this. I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you’re engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives. Our blog and technical support will continue to be the official channels for the latest updates.
Nothing is more important to me than the trust and confidence that our customers and partners have put into CrowdStrike. As we resolve this incident, you have my commitment to provide full transparency on how this occurred and steps we’re taking to prevent anything like this from happening again."
While the issue on Friday was not a cyberattack, it's interesting to note that the CrowdStrike CEO warned of potential bad actors in the future.
Amandla Stenberg pulls off the ultimate switcheroo in The Acolyte.
Throughout The Acolyte's first season, Stenberg's dual performance as twins Mae and Osha Aniseya walked the line between the Dark Side and the Light. Osha begins the season as a supporter of the Jedi, even though her intense emotions and grief over losing her family led her to be kicked out of the Order. Her sister Mae, on the other hand, starts off as a devotee to a Sith master, hellbent on gaining justice on the Jedi.
SEE ALSO: 'The Acolyte' sticks the landing with a banger of a finale — and I need more, statBut by the end of The Acolyte's showstopping finale, the twins have swapped places. Osha has turned to the Dark Side, killing Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and becoming the Stranger's (Manny Jacinto) acolyte. In support of her sister's new path, Mae agrees to have her memories wiped, only to wind up in service to the Jedi.
It's a game-changing finale, one that never loses sight of the relationships that drives it. So much of that is owed to Stenberg, who grounds the series in the connection between Osha and Mae. In an interview with Mashable, Stenberg discussed the catharsis the finale offers both twins, direction from showrunner Leslye Headland, and the already beloved ship between Osha and Qimir/the Stranger.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Mashable: The finale of The Acolyte has so many moment that made me stop and go, "Wow, I can't believe we're actually seeing this." So I'd love to know, when you were reading the script, what was the moment that stuck out to you as the showstopper, something you couldn't wait to dive into?
Amandla Stenberg: I think it had to be Osha killing Sol. Leslye said to me, from the very beginning of the show, when we were in pre-production, "It's very important for a woman in a narrative arc to kill her father." [laughs] I was like, "What does that mean?"
At first I didn't understand it. But then, as we continued speaking on it, and I went on Osha's emotional journey with her, it made so much sense to me, because I think it's the metaphorical father that she's facing. It's the things that she has been told that she is, the things she's been told she's not capable of, the suppression of self that she has partook in for most of her life, the emotional repression. All of that is coming to a head in a moment in which it's able to release itself, and it takes the form of this tragedy. Knowing that's where Osha was arriving was always such a rich thing for me to get into as I constructed her arc over the season. How does a person arrive to that point? It just became such a fun question for me to delve into.
SEE ALSO: 'The Acolyte's Darth Plagueis tease raises a huge, silly questionSol's death is also the first moment we see Osha wield a lightsaber and the Force. What did it mean to you to finally take up these iconic elements of Star Wars in this very emotionally charged context?
Oh my God, it was so much fun. I freaked out. In the finale, I get to use a lightsaber and pilot spaceships. That was a dream come true for me; that was all I wanted to do.
It really felt like a culmination of all the work that I've done to sort of graduate — kind of like how Osha is graduating into using a saber.It was very gratifying, because I spent so many of those months training with knives or doing kung fu stunt choreography. So it really felt like a culmination of all the work that I've done to sort of graduate — kind of like how Osha is graduating into using a saber.
Amandla Stenberg in "The Acolyte." Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.I love how in that moment, Mae's reaction to Osha killing Sol is more gentle and understanding than what we've seen from other Dark Side turns in Star Wars. What does her presence and her reaction mean to Osha as she starts down this new path?
I'm so happy to hear that. That was something that felt really important to me when approaching Mae's role in those moments. Whenever you're playing someone, you have to think of them as a person. And I always felt that Mae was driven by a profound sense of loyalty and emotionality and identification with her family and where she comes from. So I kind of had that in my back pocket throughout the season, even when it wasn't revealed why she does the things that she does.
I think that Mae has this deep sense of gratification and release [when Osha kills Sol], both in gaining justice through Osha and also by allowing her sister to be the empowered one in their dynamic. She is used to, since childhood, controlling the power dynamic in their relationship, and she sort of relinquishes that control in that moment. There's a lot of beauty in his death.
SEE ALSO: 9 burning questions we have for 'The Acolyte' Season 2Then there's that wonderful parting moment between Osha and Mae at the tree on Brendok. When it came to shooting, I'm curious to know which side of the scene you chose to perform first, and why.
I think I chose Mae first, because Mae's perspective at that moment just felt very clear to me. I wanted there to be the opportunity for there to be a softness in her. Both sisters, they, in this really satisfying way, get to have these parts of themselves that variables out of their control were preventing them from having until that moment. And I just wanted to think about, "Okay, when Mae has experienced this retribution and this release, what parts of her do we get to see?" It felt very important to me that there was a softness and a protectiveness that she felt over her sister, because she's always been motivated by her love for her family. That just felt very simple to me.
Both sisters...get to have these parts of themselves that variables out of their control were preventing them from having until that moment.And then Osha is going through it. [laughs] Homegirl is in the trenches. I knew that Mae was going to be the supportive, guiding force in that moment, so I let that performance guide what Osha did.
Osha is going through such quick successions of change, while also being embodied. For me, it really felt like her embodiment was going to look like her allowing herself to feel things, which is just what the Dark Side is. It's unchecked emotionality. Her journey is her having this stifled sense of self and being so afraid of her emotions, to then getting to the place where she's allowed to feel and release.
Amandla Stenberg and Manny Jacinto in "The Acolyte." Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.Speaking of the Dark Side and emotions, I know a lot of viewers have latched onto the Oshamir ship. I know I was really excited to see that hand-hold play out. What are your thoughts on how things shake out for them here, and what the future might hold?
It's been really cool to see how into Oshamir people are, because we didn't necessarily know how people were going to respond to it.
Originally, the romantic arc was a much more significant part of the finale. We had this whole debate around, "Should they kiss? What should happen?" And we just wanted to prioritize Osha's choice of going to the Dark Side feeling more autonomous. That was something that Leslye always spoke to. She said, "I don't want it to feel like Osha was manipulated into making this choice. I don't want it to feel like it was something that was out of her control. I want it to feel like this was a choice that he made for herself, after she had all the information finally available to her."
We just wanted to prioritize Osha's choice of going to the Dark Side feeling more autonomous.So it became more important for us to prioritize the ideological alignment that's happening between Osha and Qimir, and that Osha is finally acknowledged and seen in a deep way, allowed to be who she truly is by this other person. To me, that felt so much more romantically significant than any sort of physical intimacy could be.
There's a little violin melody in that final moment, and I know that you play the violin. Were you approached to play that?
No, I wish I could say that was me; that would be so cool!
I got the chance to play a piece by John Williams on my violin, which was just a piece of video that we made as we were promoting the show. But I don't think anyone was really aware I played violin up until that point. Then our music supervisor came up to me at the premiere and was like, "What the hell! I would have gotten you into the studio months ago!" So if we have the opportunity to go back, maybe that would be something we could explore.
All episodes of The Acolyte Season 1 are now streaming on Disney+.
Editor's note: Check out our oft-updated live blog for all new developments about the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage.
Updating your system is imperative to keeping it safe from cyber attacks and other threats. But sometimes it goes wrong — like it did late this week.
CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company that protects companies and users from cyberattacks, made a mistake, leading to a global meltdown. Users with Windows computers saw the "blue screen of death", flights were grounded, banks went dark, and websites shut down.
"This was an update to the software that got pushed out to its company's clientele around the world, but particularly those that were using Windows servers, and within a certain time period," Derrick Cogburn, a professor at American University, the Executive Director of the AU Institute on Disability and Public Policy, and the Faculty Co-Director of the Internet Governance Lab, told Mashable. "So it wasn't everybody that uses CrowdStrike, but a pretty sizable set of the community."
Cogburn said it affected a connected network of companies that were just trying to do the right thing and protect themselves and their users. But "when a provider like CrowdStrike has a problem with an update, it can ripple throughout the industry globally."
"As we have raised awareness about cybersecurity, more companies and organizations have worked to protect themselves," Cogburn said. "CrowdStrike is one of the best companies out there at protecting companies and organizations from a variety of cyberattacks."
This was, of course, not a cyberattack — it appears to have been a mistake in an update — but these are the same kinds of issues that could arise from a cyberattack. Since CrowdStrike has positioned itself as the leading third-party company that provides safeguards against cyberthreats, many companies have adopted its services. Cogburn argues that CrowdStrike does a good job at combating those attacks — but it made one grave mistake that caused widespread mayhem. Too many companies are integrated with the same tool. When it fails, an entire global network of companies are affected.
How did one software update silence so many systems?"The incident is a great example of the cascading failures that can occur given our relatively homogenous systems that comprise the backbone of IT infrastructure," Gregory Falco, cybersecurity expert and assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University, said over email.
Rory Mir, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Associate Director of Community Organizing, told Mashable that these digital systems can't be perfect all the time. We rely on them to safeguard our sites, but they "are going to fail at some point," whether from deliberate attack or a simple mistake.
"The problem is that we're really stuck in a digital monoculture, where decades of anti-competitive practices have created it so that just one system is responsible for so much of what we rely on from everything from airlines to hospitals to schools," Mir said. "One mistake that creates a big failure, it happens, it's an inevitability. But for it to have this sort of impact is a policy failure."
Who does this affect most?Every time a disaster occurs, we're reminded that those most at risk are also those who are affected the most deeply by these kinds of systemic failures.
"Something we regularly see with any sort of system failure, things like malware attacks and data breaches, even if the nature of the failure affects everyone across the board, frankly people's resiliency and ability to cope with these things do have a disparate impact," Mir said. "People that have enough money to have backup systems and maybe can get another hotel so they can wait for another flight or something are more able to make it through this sort of disaster."
Ultimately, access to technology is expensive. And knowing how technology works is, as Mir says, "privileged knowledge."
"When you have something like this that's so widespread, you sometimes don't think about all of the unintended consequences," Cogburn said. You think about airlines and TV stations, but you might not immediately think about how SNAP EBT is affected (it was shut down for hours) or food services and educational services. While some people are able to pivot easily and drive to the office instead of working from home, others don't have that luxury.
"For people that have more limited options, if they're relying on connected devices [and] connected services, and those are shut off they may not have the kind of flexibility to pivot into a more face-to-face environment or face-to-face space," Cogburn said. "So I think that's one of the ways that underserved populations are being affected."
Smaller businesses might be hit harder than larger companies who can "weather the storm a little bit easier," Cogburn explained, because they don't have the same kind of resources to draw from.
Inevitably, it might lead to some people not trusting systems like CrowdStrike at all which, Cogburn argues, is "really dangerous." Think about how often you don't want to update your phone, but are then vulnerable to bugs and attacks — then scale that up by 100.
"You leave yourself incredibly vulnerable to the reason that the patch was developed in the first place," Cogburn said.
How can we make sure this doesn't happen again?These kinds of failures are a bit of an inevitability, but their effects on society doesn't have to be. Mir argues that the widespread nature of this issue is due to a lack of antitrust enforcement by the likes of the DOJ and state attorneys general.
"So far, antitrust laws have really been focused on lowering prices for consumers, which is great and all, but it's also created this monoculture where it might just be one big company that offers a cheap deal, but then it becomes this huge single point of failure. And we can get this Y2K like scenario," Mir said.
Mir is hopeful that this massive and unprecedented failure will lead to legislative change.
"This is largely a failure from the antitrust enforcers themselves — the DOJ, the FTC, the Attorneys General — but I think hopefully this disaster will be a wake up call for all of them and potentially for legislators to make sure antitrust laws are working in the consumers and for reasons beyond lowering prices," Mir said.
Ultimately, this was an unprecedented failure. But, in some ways, we were lucky — it wasn't a cyberattack. We might not be so lucky next time, so we need to address it now — before it's too late.
Instagram is cluttering up our feeds again as the app expands its Notes feature directly to grid posts and Reels. Why? Because apparently commenting on posts isn't enough.
SEE ALSO: Microsoft outage updates: Crowdstrike issue still wreaking havoc despite fixNow users can add tiny floating Notes bubbles, which disappear in three days unless deleted, on top of videos and photos. The somewhat hidden Notes appear above comment sections and have a customizable audience. Users can choose who can see their Notes on posts — like only their Close Friends or followers that follow them back — which means the feature is well suited for those inside jokes or personal opinions you may not want to appear on public comment sections.
But this also means that others can post Notes on your posts (and even tag their friends or hold conversations) without the poster's knowledge, the Verge reported.
Credit: Screenshot / InstagramInstagram Notes were first introduced in 2022 as a way to encourage users to interact with their friends and followers beyond posts and stories, and to match the blueprint of Myspace and AIM away messages. Traditional Notes appear at the top of your chat log and disappear in 24 hours.
The feature was slow to gain hype among users, however, with the latest update prompting concern among some. Several accounts on Twitter have reported the surfacing of both consensual and nonconsensual pornographic Reels on their timelines, allegedly because posts with added Notes are getting an early launch algorithmic boost. Others have reported more content from strangers appearing on their feeds, most likely because they have unseen connections with other followers or commenters.
Just last month, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that the app was still recommending sexual content to minors via Reels, despite content control limits.
Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deletedFor users at large, such highly incentivized private engagement has others concerned about the feature's potential for online harassment or cyber bulling.
Earlier this year, Instagram expanded Notes with new music features and later added the ability to reply to Notes with follower prompts — both bids to get more users engaging with the feature.
How to use new Notes on Reels Credit: Instagram Credit: InstagramClick on the airplane icon on the bottom left corner of the post.
Tap "Add Note" in the bottom left corner.
Type your Note. Manage audience preferences by selecting the drop down arrow next to "Share with."
Hit share.
Editor's note: Check out our oft-updated live blog for all new developments about the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage.
You'll have to bear with FedEX and UPS. It's probably hard to coordinate deliveries when every computer simultaneously crashes because of a CrowdStrike bug.
That may not be a literal description of what happened to UPS and FedEx on Friday, but you get the point. Both of the major mail carriers issued statements (FedEx via its website and UPS via CBS) in the hours after a faulty CrowdStrike software update temporarily rendered most Windows PCs on the planet inoperable. According to both companies, packages might be a little delayed.
SEE ALSO: Microsoft outage impacting flights globally. See the latest."The FedEx network is operating across the globe, but potential delays are possible for package deliveries with a commitment of July 19, 2024," FedEx said. UPS, in a similar statement, said "there may be some service delays" but noted overall that its delivery fleet was functional.
A slightly delayed delivery is inconvenient, but far from the worst consequence of Friday's computer kerfuffle. The dreaded "blue screen of death" came for airlines, hospitals, TV stations, and even Times Square. There is a fix for the problem that unfortunately requires manual human intervention (meaning it'll take a bit before everything is back in order), but Friday's outages may be a wake-up call for those who didn't realize just how interconnected the world's technological systems are.
Editor's note: Check out our oft-updated live blog for all new developments about the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage.
On Thursday, a Microsoft outage linked to a failed CrowdStrike update affected industry giants across travel and finance, and underscored the risks of our dependence on digital technology. As people flooded into work this morning — and CrowdStrike scrambled to get systems up and running — reactions to the outage on X captured a full spectrum of human emotion.
Here are the best memes, moments, and memories from that harrowing time. 💔
Congratulations to all who celebrated! Tweet may have been deleted Condolences to those who still had to work... Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Bless those who lived in ignorant bliss Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Pouring one out for the folks who are even more miserable than usual at an airport Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted And to all the engineers and IT soldiers out there, we salute you 🫡 Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deletedEditor's note: Check out our oft-updated live blog for all new developments about the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage.
On Friday morning, nearly every Microsoft Windows machine in the world seemed to suffer from outages related to a faulty CrowdStrike software update that rolled out on Thursday. Now, the head of Microsoft has issued a statement — but don't expect too much from it.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took to X (formerly Twitter) to let everyone know that Microsoft knows what's going on and is working with affected companies and services to fix it.
Tweet may have been deleted Microsoft blames CrowdStrike for its woesNadella's statement came hours after CrowdStrike provided one to the press to confirm that the outages were not related to cyberattacks nor any other malicious activity. The outages provided anyone who woke up on Friday morning with constant news headlines about various sectors dealing with delays or shutdowns.
Airports, banks, 911 emergency dispatchers, hospitals, and TV networks around the globe had to resolve technical issues first thing on Friday morning.
SEE ALSO: Microsoft outage impacting flights globally. See the latest.The good news is the issue is resolvable. CrowdStrike released guidance on how to fix the problem shortly after it was discovered, though it involves manually booting the machine into safe mode and deleting a file. As such, any company or service that relies on lots of Windows machines will have to spend some time fixing them all manually.
Definitely more interesting than your average Friday, if nothing else.
SAVE 44%: As of today July 19, three-pack Philips Hue A1 Bluetooth Lightbulbs are on sale at Amazon for $59 off. This takes the price down from $134.99 to $75.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: Philips Philips Hue A1 Bluetooth Lightbulbs $75.99 at AmazonThere's magic in having just the right lighting: it can soothe, inspire, and rejuvenate. With Bluetooth-enabled smart lightbulbs, you can curate the lights to fit whatever headspace you're in.
Today at Amazon, you can score a set of three Philips Hue A1 Bluetooth Lightbulbs for 44% off, saving you $59. Normally, they list for $134.99, but today you can get them for $75.99. Amazon's price is also $4 cheaper than buying them directly from Philips.
These lightbulbs can sync up with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, enabling voice-assistant control. There's also the Hue App, an easy-to-use hub for controlling your lights. We love this convenience, but even more appealing is how these lights let you play with color: not just different variations of white, but across the whole spectrum of the rainbow. There are millions of color settings to choose from!
Revamp your home with Philips Hue A1 Bluetooth Lightbulbs and save when you shop today's deal at Amazon.
GET $400 OFF WITH PRIME: As of July 19, the iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) self-emptying robot vacuum is available for $399.99 at Amazon, down from $799.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: iRobot Our pick: iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) self-emptying robot vacuum $399.99 at AmazonIf you didn’t get a chance to grab a robot vacuum during Prime Day, you’re in luck. Amazon still has dozens of robovacs on sale, including the iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550).
As of July 19, Prime members can get the iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) self-emptying robot vacuum for $399.99, down from $799.99. That’s $400 off the listing price and the lowest price we’ve ever seen this model go for.
SEE ALSO: The Roomba Combo j7+ is pretty good at cleaning and really good at not eating phone chargersThe iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) lets you create a smart map and schedule cleaning sessions, while the self-emptying base means you don't have to empty the dustbin as often. Pet owners will also appreciate its P.O.O.P (Pet Owner Official Promise) guarantee, which ensures the vacuum won't run over pet waste, or they’ll replace it for free.
With PrecisionVision Navigation and a three-stage cleaning system, this robot vacuum is definitely worth considering if you're looking for a smarter, hands-off cleaning solution.
Windows PCs around the entire planet crashed this morning because of a CrowdStrike update glitch. You may have heard about it.
But what you may not have heard about is just how many services have been affected by the biggest global IT outage in years. It's not quite a Y2K level of apocalyptic meltdown, but everything from airline travel to broadcasting, 911 calls, and even surgeries, have been troubled by the CrowdStrike outage.
Here is just a partial list of things that have been brought down by the CrowdStrike glitch.
Airlines Tweet may have been deletedPerhaps one of the most striking sectors to be disrupted by the CrowdStrike outage was the airline industry. Flights were grounded globally on Friday morning, with major U.S. airlines like Delta and Allegiant halting operations alongside airlines from countries like France, Spain, Australia, and India.
911 callsMany public and private sector services rely on Windows machines for basic infrastructure and tasks — and the CrowdStrike outage has revealed that 911 emergency dispatchers are no exception.
Emergency call services went down in places like Alaska and Ohio, with local authorities releasing lists of alternative phone numbers citizens can use instead. Weirdly, in Alaska, 911 was still working in Anchorage, the state's biggest city, even while the system was down in the rest of the state.
HospitalsMedical systems around the world also suffered as CrowdStrike's update glitch brought Windows PCs down on Friday morning. Bloomberg reported that British hospitals were having trouble pulling up important patient data, while New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center had to actually delay the start of any surgical procedures that use anesthesia.
One French hospital had employees manually direct patients to appointments because the check-in process was busted. Interestingly, Pittsburgh's UPMC healthcare provider claimed very few of its Windows devices had problems and there were no disruptions.
Stock marketsWhile one might expect a massive Microsoft-linked IT outage to have an effect on Microsoft's stock price, the outage actually temporarily prevented stocks from being traded at all in some places. For instance, the London stock exchange had to delay the start of trading on Friday morning.
Because companies runs different systems, many remained unaffected, including the the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, which got up and running on Friday without any issues.
TV broadcastsObviously, TV broadcasting requires lots of computing technology, and with the global popularity of Windows, the CrowdStrike outage was sure to affect at least some networks.
One of the most prominent was the U.K.'s Sky News, which went off the air for a bit on Friday due to the Windows outage. Multiple TV channels in France were also hit, with one being unable to display weather information for viewers due to the technical difficulties. Here in the U.S., NBC News and MSNBC had temporary problems due to CrowdStrike, as have several smaller local networks around the country, per Adweek.
Times SquareLastly (and perhaps of least importance), Times Square in New York City went dark on Friday morning because, you guessed it, the big screens displaying advertisements in the area run on Windows.
Tweet may have been deletedMuch of the world woke up Friday discovering much of the internet wasn't working due to an outage caused by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. And, unfortunately, it doesn't appear like the problems will be totally fixed for quite some time.
Now, if it's just your personal Windows computer that's affected, there appears to be a workaround. The CrowdStrike issue caused many Windows computers to display the Blue Screen of Death but announced a fix around 2:30 a.m. ET. Mashable has the full coverage and steps but effectively you have to delete a file and reboot.
SEE ALSO: CrowdStrike announces Microsoft outage workaround. How to deal with the Blue Screen of Death.That workaround aside, global issues still persist. Think of how complicated it may be to individually fix the countless machines and services that use Crowdstrike. Everything from airlines, to banks, to emergency services, to healthcare providers, to grocery stores were down or disrupted. Unfortunately, the problems might not go away soon.
Tweet may have been deletedWrote Mashable Senior Editor Stan Schroeder:
"While the issue has been 'identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed,' per CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, actually fixing it is not always trivial. This is not a simple update which can easily be deployed to all systems over-the-air, as many of the affected systems crash right after booting up, meaning they're in an endless boot loop. This, in turn, means that the fix must be applied manually...to each affected system, and in large companies, this can take many hours."
Kurtz later admitted in an interview with TODAY that a complete recovery from the issue would take a while.
"It could be some time for some systems that just automatically won’t recover," he said.
So, uhh, buckle up for a Friday with lots of services down.
Check out Amazon's best deals of the day on July 19:
Amazon deals of the day at a glance: OUR TOP PICK TheraGun mini $149 at Amazon (save $50 with Prime) Get Deal BUDGET HEADPHONES DEAL Soundcore Life Q30 Hybrid ANC headphones $55.99 at Amazon (save $24 with Prime) Get Deal SPLURGE HEADPHONES DEAL Apple AirPods Max $394.99 at Amazon (save $154.01) Get Deal BEST FITNESS TRACKER DEAL Fitbit Google Ace LTE $179.95 at Amazon (save $50) Get Deal BEST KITCHEN DEAL Yeti Rambler 30-ounce travel mug $29.40 at Amazon (save $12.60 with Prime) Get DealAmazon Prime Day is dead and gone (until October, at least), but there are still quite a few lingering deals that have our attention. If you were waiting for that paycheck to hit and missed out on shopping during the official event, we've rounded up a few great deals that are live two days later. Deals on most of Amazon's own devices dried up right after the event ended, but top brands like Apple, Soundcore, Fitbit, Yeti, and TheraGun still have deals going strong.
Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day on July 19, two days after the official Prime Day shopping extravaganza.
Our top pick Opens in a new window Credit: TheraGun TheraGun mini $149.00 at AmazonMassage guns are definitely worth the hype, but they're not cheap — especially if you want a TheraGun device. Fortunately, Prime Day knocked the prices down on multiple TheraGun gadgets, including the TheraGun mini, TheraGun Sense, and TheraGun Prime. We've tested the TheraGun mini and are huge fans of its ergonomic and compact design. With three speeds, three different head options, a triangular shape, and a simple setup, it's an "effective handheld massager for both at-home and on-the-go care." Usually $200, you can snag it on sale for $149 with Prime.
Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Hybrid ANC headphones $55.99 at AmazonIf you're a Prime member, you can still snag this exclusive 30% off deal on the Soundcore Life Q30 noise-cancelling headphones. Regularly $79.99, the headphones are on sale for only $55.99. These babies pack dual noise-detecting microphones to sense and filter out up to 95 percent of low-frequency ambient sound. You can choose from three different noise-cancelling modes and listen for up to 40 hours on a single charge (or 60 without ANC turned on). The hybrid design also allows you to connect them using an AUX cable.
Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Max $394.99 at AmazonOne of Senior Editor Stan Schroeder's favorite tech deals of Prime Day is still live: 28% off the AirPods Max. "The AirPods Max are stupidly comfy, they sound amazing, look good, and play nice with Apple gadgetry," he writes, noting that he wouldn't normally buy them at full price. However, at $394.99 (reg. $549), they're down to a record-low price that makes them much more worth grabbing. At the time of writing, every color is still on sale and in stock.
Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Google Ace LTE $179.95 at AmazonThe new Fitbit Ace LTE by Google just debuted last month, so a $50 discount is pretty impressive. The watch is designed for kiddos as a way to gamify getting active. It encourages and rewards movement and play throughout the day, while giving parents the ability to keep tabs on their little ones. Parents are able to call, text, and voice message their kids on an Android or iOS phone, see their real-time location, control who their child contacts, and restrict game access during specific times. It's a great pick for parents hoping to swap their kid's screen time for physical activity.
Opens in a new window Credit: Yeti Yeti Rambler 30-ounce travel mug $29.40 at AmazonThe ultimate solution for those who regularly have to reheat their coffee, the Yeti Rambler travel mug can keep your drink hot for hours. No need for multiple reheats — its double-wall vacuum-insulated design holds temperature as long as you need it to. Plus, it comes with a stronghold lid with dual-slider magnet technology that makes it easy to sip on the road without worrying about bumps and turns causing spills. The 30-ounce option is down to just $29.40 for Prime members, which is not only a rare discount, but also the lowest price we've seen to date.
None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.
Windows computers are seeing the Blue Screen of Death, flights are being grounded, and websites are down, all because of an update gone wrong from CrowdStrike.
"CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon Sensor," CrowdStrike wrote in an alert at 1:30 a.m. ET on Friday. "Symptoms include experiencing a bugcheck\blue screen error related to the Falcon Sensor. Our Engineering teams are actively working to resolve this issue and there is no need to open a support ticket."
The CrowdStrike crash didn't just affect personal computers, though — it affected everyone who uses the cybersecurity company or Windows, a wildly popular operating system that supports loads of devices and companies.
"We're aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Among the companies affected are banks, so if yours isn't acting right, don't freak out. Here's a list of banks and financial apps that might be affected by the outage, according to DownDetector.
TD Bank
Charles Schwab
VISA
Bank of America
Chase
Capital One
Arvest Bank
Wells Fargo
Square
US Bank
SNAP EBT
E-Trade
This is likely not a complete list of the banks suffering the effects of the Microsoft outage, but does show the problem has had a widespread impact on financial institutions.
This is a developing story...
Featured Video For You What is CrowdStrike and why users are getting Windows blue screensGET 50% OFF: One-month and six-month GeForce NOW Priority or Ultimate memberships are 50% off until Aug 18.
Opens in a new window Credit: GeForce NOW Our pick: GeForce NOW Summer Sale Get 50% off premium memberships Shop NowAttention all gamers: GeForce NOW’s summer sale is live, and you won’t believe just how good it is this year.
From now until Aug 18, you can lock in a one-month or six-month GeForce NOW Ultimate or Priority membership for a whopping 50% off the regular price. Bonus: Nine new games were added to the cloud throughout this week, including Capcom’s Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, so the timing couldn't be better.
To get this deal, head to the GeForce NOW website and click “Join Now.” There, you'll see the 50% off Ultimate and Priority plans. Ultimate is around $19.99 per month, but with this discount, you’re paying just $9.99 — that’s the same price as a regular priority plan. If you choose a six-month Ultimate membership, you’ll only pay $49.99 instead of $99.99.
Credit: GeForce NowThis is a no-brainer for any serious gamer, especially those who want to stream the latest AAA titles on low-end PCs or even their mobile devices. With GeForce NOW, you can play latest releases like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and more.
Each plan gives you ad-free access to cloud gaming with up to 240 FPS gameplay (with Ultimate) and extended session lengths.
SAVE 50%: Max launched a brand-new deal for college students this week. Verified students can get a Max with Ads subscription half off, bringing the price down from $9.99 per month to $4.99 per month. That's $5 less per month.
Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max with Ads monthly subscription $4.99 at MaxWhen you're on a student's budget, there's not always tons of room for extra expenses, especially when it comes to expensive streaming services. Now, the days of bumming logins can be over: Max is offering a special discount for college students.
This week, Max launched a new deal that lets college students score a Max with Ads subscription for 50% off. This takes the monthly subscription price down from $9.99 per month to $4.99. This extra $5 per month back in your pocket adds up to $60 over a year. The deal lasts for 12 months, and at the end of the cycle, students can sign up again (as long as they're still in college).
SEE ALSO: Last chance to shop hundreds of Prime Day deals: Our shopping experts have spokenStudents must live in the United States and be 18 or older to take advantage of the deal. Students also have to go through a verification process through UNiDAYS, which they'll be redirected to through the Max site. Once their student status is verified by UNiDAYS, they'll receive a discount code via email to claim the sale.
Head over to Max to get started and claim the discount.
It's cliche to say but college football is back. And it only feels trite to say, because at this point, despite all the hype, the memes, the teasers, and the trailers — none of this feels real. For the first time in 11 years, there is a college football game and it's called EA Sports College Football 25.
All 128 NCAA Division-1 FBS teams are in the game, and for an unprecedented first, this year's version of college football also features current players. It's a massive grab and statement for EA Orlando, which has been diligently working on the long-awaited successor to NCAA Football 14 since the 2021 announcement.
With the game launching across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on July 19, two of Mashable's biggest CFB fans took cracks at the game to find out if it was worth the wait. The biggest takeaway from our time playing is that CFB 25 gets the vibe of college football just right, even if the entire package could use some work. After all, it's still an EA game.
College Football 25 gameplay Credit: EA OrlandoSection written by Chance Townsend
Playing CFB 25 is a smooth and crisp experience. Of course, it's gonna play better than its 11-year-old predecessor, but there's a level of fluidity in here that even puts Madden to shame. This shines within the running game, which is ultra-fun, crisp, and doesn't feel too animation-heavy. Although there were times when hitting the open hole I felt like the animation was sucking me into a tackle. Running is the bread and butter of the CFB 25 experience, and honestly, it shows.
That doesn't mean the passing game didn't get some love, though. New to this version of the game is "revamped passing," which shows a meter above the receiver's head during a throw. This meter determines the accuracy, power and placement of a pass. Hit the golden spot in the meter, and make the catch, but if you misjudge it, you'll end up putting your receiver in a bad spot. It's very satisfying to use compared to Madden's placement and accuracy, though it lacks the precision of that option. However, if you like Madden's interpretation of passing or love to stick to the classics, both options are available to choose from.
The passing game in general is harder than in years past. There's a frustrating amount of dropped passes by receivers at the slightest bit on contact, which makes for a troublesome gaming experience — while probably true to life, its not fun to play with. So if you thought you could spam 4 Verts like you could in NCAA 14 for easy gains, well tough noogies buddy, get ready to learn how to RPO.
Speaking of the run-pass option, it's busted as hell. If you can't immediately make a decision when passing, you'll get an illegal man downfield penalty 90 percent of the time.
On top of that, the new two-part kick meter may also cause some yelling. Which, again, in real life, these things are difficult, but it doesn't make for a fun video game experience.
Defense, however, is not fun. On higher difficulties like All-American and Heisman, stopping anything felt impossible. To be fair, the last Frostbite Engine-era football game I played was Madden 18, so maybe I just suck ass, but I don't think Troy should realistically be dropping 35 on the Longhorns.
College Football 25 presentation and vibes Mike the Tiger has never looked so good. Credit: EA SportsSection written by Alex Perry
College football holds a special place in my heart, probably unreasonably so. America's second-favorite version of its most popular sport is unlike any other. The games are often sloppy to the point of hilarity, intensely weird things happen all the time, and one time, a guy got so mad about a game that he poisoned historic trees on the opposing team's campus and called into a talk radio show to admit his guilt.
This colorful menagerie of nonsense, naturally, produces fantastic vibes. Every school has various ancient rituals the players or fans do before, during, and after games. Notre Dame players tap a sign that says "PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY" in the pregame tunnel. Nebraska fans unleash red balloons after the first scoring play of every home game. Everyone, no matter who they're rooting for, turns and waves at a children's hospital that overlooks the stadium during every Iowa home game.
Without meandering even more, I'll get straight to the point. Pretty much all of those things are present and accounted for in College Football 25. Nearly all that makes college football a compelling TV product, from boisterous marching bands and drumlines to nuclear-powered crowd noise, are represented in the game. The latter point actually affects gameplay, as receiver routes and icons will become misleading or confusing to read while an opposing crowd is bearing down on you. That's not new to football games, per se, but it's still very cool to feel the pressure of driving for a touchdown as the away team at Ohio State.
Sure, there are some typical jerky or unnatural-looking animations (as there have been in every 3D football game ever), but on the whole, College Football 25 nails the look of college football, too. Every in-game stadium, from Michigan's Big House to North Texas's DATCU Stadium, is stunningly rendered. Crowds look voluminous and energetic, too.
The game gets big points from me for also altering the colors and theming of the main menu depending on which school you choose as your favorite team. In particular, I love that every school's main menu screen features a ticket stub to a legendary real-life game from that program's history. Remember the time in 2011 when Iowa State upset Oklahoma State in overtime? No? Well, I do, and so did the developers of this game — and that's what matters.
There are really only a couple of minor criticisms I have of College Football 25's presentation. First up is the commentary, which is made up of various big names in the world of college football broadcasting like Chris Fowler, Rece Davis, and Kirk Herbstreit. Those guys are all pretty much fine, if a little flat at times. The play-by-play guys like Fowler and Davis will occasionally throw in school-specific references, which is cute. I enjoyed hearing some "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" while playing a game at Kansas, for example.
Unfortunately, the game also includes David Pollack on color commentary. I don't like David Pollack very much, for reasons that are not entirely relevant to this review. I also just find his commentary annoying and inane most of the time. Beyond that, any stadium rituals that involve licensed music are touch-and-go at best. Virginia Tech can potentially lay claim to the greatest pregame intro in all of sports, but since it uses Metallica's "Enter Sandman," it's not accurately presented in this game. Bummer.
Still, you'll occasionally hear "Sandstorm" blaring over stadium speakers between plays in any given game, so it still feels enough like college football to me.
College Football 25 Dynasty Mode Everyone's goal. Well, unless you coach Texas A&M. Credit: EA SportsSection written by Alex Perry
College Football 25 has two primary modes that dominate most of the attention outside of online exhibitions and microtransaction trading card nonsense. The first is Dynasty, a returning mode from the NCAA games of eld that casts the player as a made up head coach or coordinator for the school of their choosing.
I have to admit, I was never the biggest Dynasty guy back in the day — and I still may not be. But the version of the mode that's present in College Football 25 seems to have nearly everything you could want. Your coach or coordinator can have as many or as few responsibilities as you want. If you want to be meticulous about recruiting talent, you can do that. If you want to focus on gameday tactics and actually playing football (which is really more of a fun treat you get to occasionally do in this mode), you can do that, too.
Speaking of recruiting, that particular side of College Football 25's Dynasty mode is funny. It more or less works the same as it always did, as you have limited resources for player recruiting and the players' decisions are not entirely in your hands. It's been updated for modern times, though, as one of the resource-consuming activities you can do to court a player is to DM him on social media.
Yes, there is a button that just says "DM player" in the Dynasty menu. I laughed a lot when I saw that.
Aside from that, though, Dynasty is impressively flexible and accommodates many different styles of play for something that, from the outside, would seem to be the most hardcore mode in the game. I pretty much only like playing offense in football games, so I made an offensive coordinator and only call offensive plays now. Easy! That's what I like to see. If I'm good enough at it, maybe I'll get a mediocre head coaching job, flame out in three years, and cause an entire community in Tennessee or whatever to hate me for eternity. That's what college football is all about.
College Football 25 Road to GlorySection written by Chance Townsend
Choose how you want your RTG career to go. Credit: EA OrlandoGone are the glory days of playing in high school with this year's version of CFB 25. In previous games, players could simulate high school games to garner interest from potential schools and commit to them. However, that feature got cut in favor of a more limited, streamlined Road to Glory (RTG) experience.
Instead, players can pick from one of four options, starting as an elite five-star talent to a lowly two-star underdog. Your decision will determine your player overall, your choice of schools, and your place on that program's depth chart. For example, a five-star will have their top of top-level programs like UT-Austin or Michigan. But a two or three-star will have their pick of fighting for starting spots at lowly programs like Air Force or Eastern Michigan. You can walk on to any school in the game, but you'll be starting from the bench and it's hard to get rise up the depth chart.
This is from a separate running back save Credit: EA OrlandoI started my RTG at Memphis, which promised my created QB the second-string position. Once the creation and recruitment process is done, you'll be taken to the main hub where you can play or sim that week's game, participate in practice drills, and spend energy points on your weekly agenda. You have the choice to put your energy into academics, leadership skills, recovery, training, or brand building. These each come with pros and cons that affect each other. For example, putting points into brand building will drop your academic bar; training causes increased injury risk; and low leadership skills create a passive loss of coach trust points until you've invested a certain amount of energy into that agenda.
What do you mean I have exams??? Credit: EA OrlandoAdditionally, there are fun choose-your-adventure style scenarios that pop up throughout the season. You'll occasionally get messages from your academic advisor, your coaches, teammates, and even classmates that'll put you in scenarios that could increase your brand, GPA, and coach trust, or vice versa. In one instance, a classmate asked me to party the night before a game, and when I said yes, my coach caught me and I lost trust points.
You can gain a coach's trust through practice and playing games, but if you're sitting on the bench, you'll have a hard time getting points cause the drills you can play are really short and your success depends on how well the AI is at giving you plays you can work with.
Limitation is pretty much the theme of playing RTG. Since you're not really in control, while playing games, you're at the mercy of the AI from everything like playcalling to the actions of your teammates on the field. Playcalling is repetitive and conservative. Going 3 and Out will cause an unskippable cutscene as you fade back into the super sim screen and the AI will only allow you to call hurry up on 4th down during the last few minutes of each half — when the situation determines that going for it "makes sense."
Receivers drop open balls like they have grease on their hands and handing the ball off to the running back is like watching an AI programmer teach their LLM how to navigate a maze. So when I finally got to start at Memphis in my second season, I started 0-4 before finishing the season with a conference championship and a 7-6 record. That conference championship, by the way, did not have a special trophy presentation. Instead, I got the same victory cutscene that you get after every other game during the regular season.
I lost this game by the way. Credit: EA OrlandoIf you're surprised my 7-6 Memphis Tigers even made the conference championship, that's because the sim engine is busted. This is partially due to the overall of the teams in the game being so evenly rated despite the huge gaps between teams like Akron and Alabama. Despite going 2-10 in 2023, the Akron Zips are a 73 overall team. Kennesaw State, a team that is about to have its first season in Division 1 Football (D-1 FBS), is a 73 overall team. Mid-level Power 4 schools like Texas Tech, Miami, A&M, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Utah, and Florida State are all within the 85-88 OVR range. Thus, what's been created is a level of college football parity that has never existed in real life. There are no haves and have-nots because even the fake cupcake FCS teams can beat a Power 4 school with ease.
This creates weird situations that see 6-6 Memphis play 7-6 Rice in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship because #4 ranked Tulane dropped its last two conference games to UTSA and Charlotte. In the first season, my alma mater, the University of North Texas, made the 12-team College Football Playoff despite only having three winning seasons since 2010. That season also saw Texas A&M win the National Championship — a true real immersion breaker because the real-life A&M has yet to make an appearance in the SEC Championship.
Unlike Dynasty, the happenings of the world around you don't have much to do with you since you don't have to deal with things like recruiting and roster management. Plus, historically, RTG has been a rather shallow experience. However, thanks to the addition of the transfer portal, you can change your team at the end of every season to create some interesting scenarios in your career.
CUT and best of the rest Booooooo! Credit: EA OrlandoSection written by Chance Townsend
What's left to cover in this review is the Ultimate Team mode or CUT (College Ultimate Team). While I've never cared for Ultimate Team in any game, this version of EA's favorite money collector isn't as in your face as its other offerings like EAFC or Madden. We didn't play around much with CUT during our play testing, so our review is limited, however, it must be said that for those new to the Frostbite Engine era of EA sports games, CUT is the perfect place to start.
Not because that's where EA wants you to spend money, but because the offering of solo challenges is an excellent way to get used to the different playbooks and schemes that can be used in other modes like Dynasty. It's the perfect training ground to get a feel of what kind of style you'd want to play for whenever you decide to take the reigns at a bottom-barrel MAC program. Each playbook offers different challenges, like the Air Raid that asks you to use a hurry-up offense and pass for five straight plays.
Is College Football 25 Worth It?To keep things brief, if you love college football, this game you're waiting for. As a pure gameplay experience, CFB 25 is both challenging and rewarding in ways that Madden and 2K aren't. However, it's not the game we've waited 11 years for. Dynasty lacks a lot of depth and quality-of-life changes that were present in NCAA 14, alongside a mind-numbingly inane UI and drumline menu songs.
EA Orlando promised fans that this is the college football game they deserve, and considering it has all the trappings of an EA sports game, they weren't lying. But if you can look past that and just focus on what's in the game, you'll have a fun time.
SAVE $50: Today, July 19, the Theragun Mini massage gun is on sale at Amazon for 25% off. This brings the massage gun's price down from $199 to $149.
Opens in a new window Credit: Theragun Theragun Mini $149.00 at AmazonPrime Day is over, but the deals are not. Today at Amazon, Prime members can grab the formidable Theragun Mini massage gun at a reduced price.
As of today, July 19, the Theragun Mini massage gun is on sale at Amazon for $149. This brings the list price of $199 down by 25%, saving you $50 if you choose to buy. While this isn't the Theragun's lowest price we've seen, it makes the premium fitness device a little more budget-friendly.
According to Theragun, the Theragun Mini is 20% smaller and 30% lighter than the regular Theragun, making it ultra-portable and easy to toss into your gym bag. Made for travel, the Theragun mini gives you access to deep tissue massage relief wherever you are. Even though it's small, it's still super versatile. Three different foam attachments let you tailor your massage to your body's needs, and it also has three massage speeds to choose from.
Take advantage of today's Prime deal at Amazon and save $50 when you shop the Theragun Mini.
GET $50 OFF: As of July 19, the Govee floor lamp 2 is available at Amazon for $99.99, down from $149.99. That's a 33.33% discount of $50.
Opens in a new window Credit: Govee Our pick: Govee floor lamp 2 $99.99 at AmazonPrime Day has ended, but that hasn’t stopped the deals from continuing to roll in. Now, dozens of Prime-exclusive deals, ranging from tech products to home goods, are flooding the deals page on Amazon.
If you want to upgrade your smart home setup, the Govee floor lamp 2 is available at Amazon for $99.99, down from $149.99. That’s a $50 discount and a pretty sweet deal for such a groovy lamp.
SEE ALSO: Amazon's Echo Show 10 is one of our favorite smart home devicesThis smart lamp is 60 inches tall and has 80+ preset scene modes and a customizable DIY feature that lets you create your own lighting effects. You can connect it to other Govee smart devices within a 30-meter range and sync music lighting to your favorite tunes. It also features voice control via Homekit, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
With 1725lm brightness and adjustable 2200k-6500k warm/cool whites, this RGBIC floor lamp can make any room feel instantly cozier or more vibrant. Whether you’re reading a book, watching a movie, or having friends over for a party, this lamp can set the perfect mood.
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