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Save $80 on one of our favorite noise-canceling earbuds right now at Best Buy

Mashable - 2 hours 48 min ago

SAVE $80: As of March 13, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are on sale at Best Buy for $219. That's 26% off their list price of $299.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds $219 at Best Buy
$299 Save $80 Get Deal

If you've been on the hunt for some new, high-quality earbuds, Best Buy's offering a great deal at the moment that you don't want to miss. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, which we say are "impressive in every way" in our review, have had an $80 discount at the retailer.

This $80 discount has dropped their price from $299 to $219 at Best Buy. All of the available colors are discounted as well, so you can save on the black, white smoke, lunar blue, and the 60th anniversary diamond edition models. Not to mention, your purchase also comes with three months of YouTube Premium for free if you're a new subscriber, so you can give the earbuds a test run on a variety of videos and music on the platform.

SEE ALSO: The best headphones in 2025

Alongside a comfortable fit, these earbuds boast excellent noise-canceling features that landed them in the top spot of our ranking of the best noise-canceling earbuds and as the best for noise-canceling in our overall roundup of the best earbuds. The sound quality is just as nice as well, so you can be happily immersed in the sweet sounds of your favorite music, audiobooks, or podcasts. Our review had incredibly high praise for these earbuds, saying, "In terms of audio quality, noise cancellation, and battery life, I'm more impressed the longer I use these earbuds."

And speaking of battery life, these buds provide up to six hours of listening time so you can listen for longer between charges. Our review also notes that, "Bose promises the earbuds battery life will last six hours (24 hours with the charging case), and I can verify that claim. A lot of companies exaggerate their battery life, but I haven't found that to be the case with Bose."

Don't miss out on $80 off the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds at Best Buy.

Looking for even more earbud deals? You're in luck, as there are a couple more that are worth checking out at the moment! Over at Amazon, you can save on the AirPods Pro 2 and the Beats Fit Pro right now.

Seth Meyers gleefully roasts Trump and Musks Tesla ad

Mashable - 3 hours 56 min ago

Seth Meyers has become the latest late night host to roast Donald Trump and Elon Musk's White House Tesla ad, following the pasting Stephen Colbert gave it on Tuesday.

In the clip above Meyers goes through the footage — which followed the U.S. president promising to buy a Tesla after the company's stock price cratered — bit by bit, sharing his thoughts on everything from Trump saying he'll pay by cheque ("So fun to see the crypto president fully admit he's still a cheque guy — Bitcoin is the future, now real quick what day is it? I gotta mail this before they cut off the cable") to Trump saying "everything's computer!" after climbing inside one of the cars ("I give the man a hard time, but then he says something that really puts things in perspective").

Whats new to streaming this week? (March 13, 2025)

Mashable - 4 hours 29 min ago

Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that's before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each one!

Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, animation, and more.

But if you're seeking something brand spanking new (or new to streaming), we've got you covered there, too.

SEE ALSO: The best Netflix TV shows of 2024

Mashable's entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you're looking for some '90s nostalgia-fuelled adventures, a live Netflix chat show, or one of the best and most devastating TV shows of 2025 so far, we've got something just for you.

Here's what's new on streaming, from worst to best.

12. The Electric State

We're calling it now, Electric State is one of the worst movies of 2025. Following on the heels of flops like Cherry and The Gray Man, directing duo Joe Russo and Anthony Russo deliver an overcrowded adaptation of Simon Stålenhag's novel Electric State. And it's an absolute eyesore that feels like a slog.

Stranger Things' Millie Bobbie Brown teams with Chris Pratt for a meandering adventure set in an alternate 1990's, where mankind has survived a way with AI robots — who look like beloved cartoon characters and Mr. Peanut. But to find the brother she thought she lost, one hard-headed teen (Brown) must traverse into the No Man's Land where bots still reign. In my review of Electric State, I jeered, "The Russos are not creators, they're collectors. And here, they basically turned a junkpile aesthetic into a trash movie." — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Starring: Millie Bobbie Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, and Giancarlo Esposito

How to watch: The Electric State comes to Netflix on March 14.

11. The Parenting

Meeting the parents takes a grisly turn in The Parenting, a horror comedy from Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) that boasts a cast including Brian Cox, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Edie Falco, and Dean Norris. The film centers on couple Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn), who have planned a weekend getaway to introduce their parents. But botched first impressions and incompatible families are nothing compared to the true horror of the weekend: a demon haunting the rental home.

Despite its stacked cast and the occasional standout line reading, The Parenting never takes its horror or comedy far enough, suffering instead from stilted pacing and tired family comedy clichés. But for all its flaws, it is a delight to see a possessed Cox in demon mode. On top of pulling some vomiting and head-spinning from The Exorcist's bag of tricks, his nasty tirades recall Cox's normal Succession dialogue. If you for some reason ever wondered what would happen if Logan Roy crossed paths with Pazuzu, The Parenting is your answer.. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Parker Posey, and Vivian Bang

How to watch: The Parenting is now streaming on Max.

10. Long Bright River

Amanda Seyfried stars Long Bright River, a limited series adaptation of Liz Moore's bestselling novel. The Emmy winner plays Mickey, a Philadelphia police officer who patrols her former neighborhood of Kensington, which was deeply impacted by the opioid crisis. When a string of murders strikes Kensington women, Mickey realizes her long-missing sister Kacey (Ashleigh Cummings) may be affected. She and her old partner Truman (Nicholas Pinnock) jump on the case, kicking off a suspenseful search that reopens old wounds from Mickey's past.

Long Bright River boasts strong performances, especially from a very grounded Seyfried, but as a crime drama, it doesn't feel like anything we haven't seen before. (The Pennsylvania setting doesn't help the already several Mare of Easttown similarities.) One of the most fascinating aspects of the show is the soured relationship between Mickey and Kacey, but with so much of it relegated to flashbacks, this central story of two estranged sisters never quite takes off. — B.E.

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Nicholas Pinnock, Ashleigh Cummings, Callum Vinson, John Doman, Dash Mihok, Britne Oldford, Matthew Del Negro, Harriet Sansom Harris, Patch Darragh, and Perry Mattfeld

How to watch: Long Bright River is now streaming on Peacock.

9. Moana 2

Get ready to go "Beyond" all over again, because Moana 2 is coming to digital. The sequel to Disney's 2016 smash hit reunites us with wayfinder Moana (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) as she embarks on a new quest to save her home island of Motunui. This time around, she must find the legendary island of Motufetu, which was cursed long ago by the human-hating god Nalo, and reconnect all the ocean's peoples.

The ensuing journey is a blast, with Moana's new companions adding extra fun to the high seas, and with demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) once again bringing his shapeshifting fun to the screen. Yet Moana 2 still falls short of Moana in several ways. Nalo proves to be an underwhelming villain, while Moana 2's songs are simply unmemorable without Lin-Manuel Miranda. As I wrote in my Moana 2 review, "Miranda's presence is greatly missed, with songs often feeling like lackluster rehashes of the first film's songs."*B.E.

Starring: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey, and Alan Tudyk

How to watch: Moana 2 is now streaming on Disney+.

8. Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2

Maybe you're a Yellowstone fiend. Maybe you've heard everyone and their horse telling you to watch the Kevin Costner-led cowboy series — especially after the show's December 2024 finale drew a reported 13.1 million viewers in three days, according to Paramount. If you missed it, Season 5, Part 2 is coming to Peacock, so you can watch the Dutton family defend their Montana ranch for one last time. Get caught up in political developer land grabs, family secrets, and bloody drama with Taylor Sheridan and John Lindan's popular series. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

Starring: Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, Forrie J. Smith, Wendy Moniz, Moses Brings Plenty, Finn Little, Dawn Olivieri

How to watch: Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 is streaming on Peacock from March 16.

7. Evil Dead

Two Evil Dead movies for the price of one are staggering their way to Shudder this spring, in the form of Sam Raimi's original 1981 The Evil Dead and the franchise's fourth instalment/reboot, Evil Dead (2013). Although the latter isn't an exact remake, both stories have a similar plot: A group of young characters staying at a cabin in the woods accidentally awaken some evil forces, and possession-themed chaos ensues. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly, Richard DeManincor, Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore

How to watch: The Evil Dead and Evil Dead are streaming on Shudder from March 15.

6. Am I Being Unreasonable Season 2

Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli's comedy/drama/horror Am I Being Unreasonable? was one of our favourite shows of 2023, so expectations on the sequel are high. Following a haunted and struggling mother (Cooper) who's reeling from the tragic death of her brother-in-law – a man she was also having an affair with – season two follows directly on from that very memorable memorial episode that closed out the last season. Like the first outing, the tone flips seamlessly between over-the-top comedy and disturbing psychological horror, with plenty of twists along the way. — S.H.

Starring: Daisy May Cooper, Selin Hizli, Lenny Rush, Dustin Demri-Burns, Charlie Cooper

How to watch: Am I Being Unreasonable? Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu.

5. Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

John Mulaney leads Netflix's latest foray into live TV with a brand new celebrity chat show. Everybody's Live with John Mulaney is the follow-up to his live show on the streaming service, Everybody's in L.A., which ran as part of last year's Netflix Is a Joke Festival. Mulaney's new weekly series will see the comedian interviewing some impressive guests including Joan Baez, Michael Keaton, Fred Armisen, Cypress Hill, and Jessica Roy. He'll also be joined by his sidekicks for the show, comedian Richard Kind and service robot Saymo. — S.C.

How to watch: Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney premiered live on Netflix Wednesday, March 12, at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with new episodes weekly.

4. Dope Thief

Ready for a new crime drama full of twists, heralded actors, and character-driven humor? Based on the Daniel Tafoya novel, Dope Thief has all that and more.

Created by Peter Craig (The Town), this new Apple TV+ series stars Brian Tyree Henry as Ray Driscoll, a Philly entrepreneur with a unique business plan. Alongside his simple-minded bestie Manny (Wagner Moura), Ray impersonates a DEI agent to ambush low-level drug dealers, stealing their ill-gotten gains and illegal substances for profit. The money, they'll split. The drugs will go to a bigger dealer, who's a sort of father-figure to Ray. But when one of these raids goes sideways, there's fire, death, and a wounded survivor hellbent on revenge. Can Ray and Manny survive once they've got a vicious kingpin and the actual DEI on his trail? You'll have to tune in to find out! — K.P.

Starring:  Brian Tyree Henry, Wagner Maura, Marin Ireland, and Kate Mulgrew

How to watch: Dope Thief debuts with episodes 1 and 2 on Apple TV+ on March 14; new episodes drop weekly.

3. Wheel of Time Season 3

The Wheel of Time turns into its third season, and the stakes have never been higher. Dragon Reborn Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) is on the run from the Forsaken, with his journey bringing him to the Aiel Waste. There, trials await him and his traveling companions, including Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Egwene (Madeleine Madden). Particularly disturbing is a vision that Moiraine receives that tells her Rand can only survive if she dies, and vice versa. Could we be losing one of our two leads this season?

SEE ALSO: How Amazon's 'Wheel of Time' is different from the books

Panic about that outcome aside, The Wheel of Time remains an epic fantasy treat three seasons in. The ensemble cast continues to click, even when thrown into new and intriguing combinations, and each new location explored provides ample opportunity for awe. Plus, magical battles are off the charts this season — look no further than the Aes Sedai smackdown in episode 1 for proof. — B.E.

Starring: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Dónal Finn, Ceara Coveney, Kate Fleetwood, Natasha O’Keeffe, Ayoola Smart, Kae Alexander, Laia Costa, Olivia Williams, Luke Fetherston, Callum Kerr, and Nuno Lopes

How to watch: The Wheel of Time Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with a new episode every week.

2. O'Dessa

Patti Cake$ writer/director Geremy Jasper returns with a rock opera that was one of our most anticipated premieres out of SXSW, thanks to a propulsive soundtrack, trippy aesthetic, and moving tale of resistance and romance. 

Stranger Things' Sadie Sink stars as O’Dessa, a rambler who has a song in her heart and a destiny in her blood. In a dystopian world, a narcissistic dictator (Murray Batlett) numbs the population into poverty through an endless barrage of TV broadcasts. It's up to O'Dessa to bring her music to the masses and open their hearts and minds. Along the way, Jasper drenches his audience in an enchanting musical soundscape with visuals gorgeous and strange, making for a movie musical that feels familiar yet thrillingly fresh. — K.P.

Starring: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, and Pokey LaFarge

How to watch: O'Dessa is now streaming on Hulu.

1. Adolescence

This is surely going to be one of the TV shows of the year. Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne's four-part mini-series, directed by Boiling Point collaborator Philip Barantini, uses a unique format to tell the story of a family torn apart after their 13-year-old son Jamie (Owen Cooper) is accused of murder. Each episode is filmed in one shot, a device that unfolds the story in unflinching and uncomfortable real time. The performances are stunning across the board and the writing delves into a difficult but timely subject matter. Memorable and harrowing. — S.H.

Starring: Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Owen Cooper, Faye Marsay, Christine Tremarco, Amelie Pease

How to watch: Adolescence is now streaming on Netflix.

* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.

Bitcoin 2025 predictions: Will BTC go to the moon?

Mashable - 5 hours 15 min ago

Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, has had a big year. In 2024, it broke new ground, reaching and surpassing the price of $100,000 per 1 BTC for the first time.

But it's a very interesting moment for crypto investors right now. President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time in January, bringing with him the most crypto-friendly administration the U.S. has ever seen. He preluded that with the launch of a new $TRUMP meme coin, likely making millions in the process. Macroeconomic indicators are all over the place, and the global geopolitical situation hasn't been this messy since the Cold War era.

Large entities such as corporations and nation-states have been buying bitcoins en masse, but in recent months, they've been more eager to sell than buy. The U.S. government will no longer sell its stash thanks to Trump's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve initiative. To complicate things further, arcane technologies, such as quantum computing, are threatening to unravel Bitcoin's very foundation — though no one's sure when that may happen or if it will happen at all.

All of that leaves Bitcoin in a precarious place. Ask 10 experts where its price may go, and you'll get 10 vastly different answers, likely ranging from zero to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The thing to do, then, is to calmly and carefully consider the most critical factors that influence Bitcoin before making any investment decisions.

Disclaimer: We're not here to provide an investment thesis or investment advice. This is an overview of Bitcoin's progress and some of the major risks and tailwinds that may define its future.

We've consulted cryptocurrency experts on the matter. At Mashable, we've covered Bitcoin since at least 2017, and we've seen some massive crashes, impressive price rises, community splits, and technology changes and challenges. Now that Bitcoin is seemingly on a downward trajectory, at roughly $82,000 per coin, it's time to do a thorough check-up on the orange coin once again.

Bitcoin's biggest milestone: Hitting $100,000

How did this happen? Bitcoin started out as an experiment by its elusive, pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, who unleashed it onto the world and disappeared shortly after. It was first embraced by a few enthusiasts, such as Hal Finney, whose interests were at a cross-section of cryptography and finance.

For Bitcoin to succeed and become secure, bitcoins must become vastly more expensive. - Hal Finney

For years, Bitcoin was almost a joke, with proponents seemingly waiting forever for it to become the peer-to-peer digital cash that Nakamoto envisioned. But the price kept rising, and though Bitcoin was never widely adopted as a means of payment, it became something else: a decentralized version of digital gold that feeds on computing power to keep its transactional network secure.

It took a few years for people to start paying attention: In May 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz famously spent 10,000 BTC on two pizzas; had he kept the bitcoins, they would be worth billions now. Hanyecz is annually reminded of this on May 22, when bitcoiners celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day.

By 2024, Bitcoin had essentially become widely legitimized as something that has value and should be taken very seriously. A key development in this was the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs. ETFs, or exchange traded funds, are investment funds that hold a certain asset or security, allowing anyone to get exposure to that asset (in this case Bitcoin) without having to deal with the intricacies of having a cryptocurrency wallet.

Spot Bitcoin ETF on-chain holdings in BTC. Credit: Mashable

These funds, which require BTC to actually be bought and held in custody for its clients, were huge, prompting heavyweights such as BlackRock and Fidelity to finally throw their marketing machines and financial heft behind Bitcoin. The ETFs were a stellar success, with billions pouring in on a weekly basis. As of now, spot Bitcoin ETFs hold a total of 1.13 million BTC, worth roughly $100 billion.

Add that to Michael Saylor's Microstrategy, a company with a somewhat inert software business that started buying bitcoins en masse in 2020 and now holds roughly 499,000 BTC worth $41 billion, and you not only have a race to earn more bitcoins but a real fear amongst cryptocurrency titans of being left behind with zero bitcoins while everyone else has some.

That, in very rough sketches, is how Bitcoin got from zero to $100,000 per Bitcoin in less than two decades, making it one of the most successful financial products of all time.

Where does Bitcoin stand now?

In January, it all seemed hunky dory for cryptocurrencies. Trump got inaugurated, and Bitcoin was breaking new highs at above $108,000 on Jan. 20. Then, the newly elected president started talking tariffs, U.S. stock indexes turned red, and crypto followed. Right now, BTC is trading at about $82,000 per coin.

And that was despite the unprecedented amount of good news for Bitcoin and crypto in general, including the formation of a Crypto Task Force and Trump's announcement of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in early March, which forbade the U.S. government to sell bitcoins it already owns while opening some avenues to acquire more.

This does not necessarily mean the bull market is over. Bitcoin has historically had large price corrections (yes, bigger than 30%) even during bull runs.

Is Bitcoin a legitimate investment?

The likelihood of any investment being "fraudulent" to some degree or at least risky is never zero. Companies you hold stock in can conceal losses with accounting schemes. Banks can debank you because of identity theft. Even if you invest in something as solid as real estate or commodities, things can go wrong. Ships sink. Trains get derailed. Tornadoes happen. Even if there's no fraud or catastrophic incident in your cards, sometimes prices just tank because of unforeseen events.

Bitcoin is no different: Things could go wrong, and they sometimes do.

That said, Bitcoin is as legit as it can be these days. It's been bought by the billions by the largest of U.S. investment companies. Some nation-states, such as El Salvador, have even opted in. Companies such as Microstrategy are piling up Bitcoin instead of cash, and it's no longer just for nerds with powerful computers — it hasn't been for a long time. Plus, the creation of the U.S. Bitcoin Reserve further solidified Bitcoin as a legitimate asset.

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CCData Research Lead, Joshua de Vos, says Bitcoin passing the "psychological" $100,000 mark was an incredibly important milestone. "This price movement is closely tied to growing optimism surrounding the incoming administration and expectations of greater regulatory clarity and state-backed support for Bitcoin," he told Mashable in a statement.

"This initiative could position Bitcoin as a national asset, further legitimizing its role as a store of value and helping to further diversify government holdings."

Yes, a catastrophic error could still be found in Bitcoin's software, but the odds of that, given that Bitcoin has been running for 16 years and counting with well over a trillion dollars on the line, are extremely small. Quantum computers may one day be able to crack Bitcoin's encryption, but if you trust Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, decades will pass before "very useful" quantum computers arrive.

President of OKX exchange Hong Fang is optimistic about Bitcoin's longterm prospects, though he also warns of possible "black swan" events that could influence Bitcoin's price. In particular, he worries about the risks of too much Bitcoin being held by individual entities, which is a byproduct of the increasing institutional adoption of Bitcoin. “Where there is concentration, there are risks,” says de Vos.

As it gains legitimacy, Bitcoin is getting less volatile, but the price of 1 BTC can still gain or lose double digits in a day. Gold as an investment has been around for thousands of years; Bitcoin hasn't even turned 20.

Bitcoin in 2025: Macro worries and hopes

This is where it gets tricky. Bitcoin is no longer a countertrade against the entire financial system, it is now a part of that system, and it's owned by the billions by entities who follow traditional investing rules such as going risk off when U.S. bond yields surge. Bitcoin may be called digital gold, but it still often behaves like a risk asset (such as company stock).

Hence, Bitcoin is and will be affected, perhaps increasingly so, by big movements in traditional markets, which in turn are affected by macroeconomic trends. A strong U.S. dollar, for example, might push prices of stocks and Bitcoin down.

The vast majority of us, however, aren't macro experts. Observing larger trends and keeping tabs on what may be lurking behind the horizon is all right, but few can really predict whether the U.S. dollar or bond yields will go up or down in a year's time, including us. Instead, check out the work done by research firm Dalbar, which proves year after year that most investors underperform a simple index fund.

In other words, trying to predict Bitcoin's price based on tracking macroeconomic trends is probably futile.

How are meme coins impacting Bitcoin?

Coins come and go. Granted, $TRUMP was a big one, rising to a fully diluted valuation of about $83 billion within hours and sucking out liquidity from the entire crypto market in the process. But if you zoom out, Bitcoin barely blinked.

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There will be other meme coins, and we'll probably see many other high-profile people, as well as organizations and perhaps even nation-states, following up. It can affect Bitcoin's price short-term, but we've seen such shenanigans before, and Bitcoin came through just fine.

In a recent statement, the U.S. SEC said that meme coins aren't securities.

"Meme coins typically are purchased for entertainment, social interaction, and cultural purposes, and their value is driven primarily by market demand and speculation," the regulator said in a statement. "In this regard, meme coins are akin to collectibles. Meme coins also typically have limited or no functionality.

"Given the speculative nature of meme coins, they tend to experience significant market price volatility and often are accompanied by statements regarding their risks and lack of utility, other than for entertainment or other nonfunctional purposes," the regulator said.

Alts, or altcoins (typically defined as all cryptocurrencies that aren't Bitcoin) generally do trade in lockstep with Bitcoin. But Bitcoin has its own thing going on and is getting more impervious to movements in the crypto markets. This is partially because a big chunk of its supply is now owned by ETFs and large investors, who don't sway as easy as the newbie who bought yesterday but is now thinking about dumping it all in favor of an alt.

However, if Bitcoin is doing well, alts typically do well, too. As former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently put it, "What's good for bitcoin is good for alts."

Where do crypto legends think the price of Bitcoin will go?

Bitcoin is still a teenager, but it feels like it's been around for an eternity, mostly because something new happens to it or around it every day.

With continued adoption amplified by macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, short-term sentiments, and market speculations, I expect Bitcoin's price to stay volatile with a general upward trend in the next 12 months, going as low as $70k or as high as $150k. But over the next 3-4 years, I see a good chance to realize a $400-$500k price range for the ‘digital gold.’ - Hong Fang, OKX president, in a statement to Mashable

There are people who were there from the very beginning — technologists who dabbled with the technical side, enthusiasts who just liked the idea, as well as investors who recognized the potential early. What do they say about Bitcoin's prospects going forward?

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Legendary crypto investor and podcaster Cobie often comments with tongue-in-cheek remarks. But he seems to be very bullish on Bitcoin, as he expects it to continue making new all-time highs in rapid succession at some point in the near future.

Another legendary investor who tweets very sparingly these days, pseudonymous crypto trader GCR (short for GiganticRebirth), still thinks Bitcoin will ultimately have a larger market cap than gold (that's currently estimated at around $18.3 trillion, while BTC's market cap is a little over $2 trillion).

I don't believe bitcoin tops until it flips gold, and will likely be long bitcoin for the rest of my life. - GiganticRebirth

He does, however, warn that the time to get really greedy has passed and that investors should be more careful as we approach bull market peak.

From the other side of the stadium comes Peter Schiff, who's vocal about his disdain for Bitcoin. According to him, a strategic Bitcoin reserve would lead to "higher inflation and a weaker economy" in the U.S.

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Like many high-profile executives of the traditional finance world, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink took his time warming up to Bitcoin. These days, however, he thinks it's an "alternative" to gold.

Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz was an early investor in Bitcoin. He claims that Bitcoin reaching the price of $100,000 per coin is a "milestone that represents more than price."

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"It’s proof of adoption, belief, and a community that has carried this revolution from 0 to 100. With world leaders leaning in and a generational wealth shift underway, this is just the beginning," he tweeted.

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Finally, if you want to get poetic, perhaps it's best to quote one of the most fanatical proponents of Bitcoin, Michael Saylor. As he puts it, "#Bitcoin is a swarm of cyber hornets serving the goddess of wisdom, feeding on the fire of truth, exponentially growing ever smarter, faster, and stronger behind a wall of encrypted energy."

How to watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami online for free

Mashable - 5 hours 34 min ago

TL;DR: Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free on YouTube. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The last spots in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarter finals are up for grabs as Cavalier take on Inter Miami. Lionel Messi and co won the first leg 2-0, and will be confident of securing a safe passage into the next round in Kingston.

If you want to watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Cavalier vs. Inter Miami?

Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on March 13. This fixture takes place at the National Stadium.

How to watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami for free

Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup is available to live stream for free on YouTube.

This free live stream is available in most locations around the world, but not in North or Central America. Fortunately, fans in these excluded territories can still access this free live stream with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK (or somewhere else with access), meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Concacaf Champions Cup from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami by following these simple steps:

  1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

  2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

  3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK (or somewhere else with access)

  4. Visit YouTube

  5. Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami for free

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Concacaf Champions Cup fixtures before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for YouTube?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on YouTube, for a number of reasons:

  • Servers in 105 countries including the UK

  • Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

  • Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

  • Fast connection speeds free from throttling

  • Up to eight simultaneous connections

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

Samsung’s ridiculous Buzzer Beater Bundle is over $5,000 off — because one TV isn’t enough for March Madness

Mashable - 5 hours 52 min ago

SAVE OVER $5,000: As of March 13, the Samsung Buzzer Beater Bundle is available for $10,307.42 at Samsung — down from its usual $16,199.92 price. That's a 36% discount for an eight-TV setup built for March Madness.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Buzzer Beater Bundle $10,307.42 at Samsung
$16,199.92 Save $5,892.50 Get Deal

If you’re serious about college basketball, a single TV just won’t cut it. March Madness is pure chaos, with eight networks streaming games simultaneously. You either miss out or constantly flip channels like a maniac. Enter Samsung’s Buzzer Beater Bundle, a ridiculous eight-TV setup that ensures you catch every buzzer-beater, dunk, and controversial foul call.

Right now, Samsung has slashed the price by $5,892, making this a tempting splurge.

SEE ALSO: Grab the productivity powerhouse Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge for nearly $200 off

You're not just getting eight random screens — this setup is stacked with top-tier Samsung displays, including:

  • 98-inch Class Crystal UHD 4K TV (DU9000): A massive 4K screen with Supersize Picture Enhancer to keep things crisp, even at nearly 100 inches.

  • 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV (QN900D): AI-powered 8K upscaling and Motion Enhancer Pro make this the ultimate main screen for game-day action.

  • Three 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED 4K TVs (QN85D): Crisp 4K resolution, deep contrast, and motion smoothing for fast breaks that look smooth.

  • Three 55-inch Samsung QLED 4K TVs (Q70D): Vibrant color and deep contrast to ensure you don’t miss a single detail—yes, even that questionable three-pointer.

This bundle isn’t just about the TVs. Samsung is throwing in free simple installation (or 50% off complex setups), a Samsung Care+ two-year plan, and VIP Advantage perks like reward points for future purchases. You’re getting a VIP experience along with your courtside-at-home setup.

How Generative A.I. Complements the MAGA Style

NYT Technology - 6 hours 12 min ago
Online Trump supporters have embraced a unique form of irony that is hard to parse — and easy to deploy with new technologies.

The Roborock Saros 10R aces one thing that most other robot vacuums cant

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

The robot vacuum with a grabby arm from Roborock's showing at CES 2025 has been hogging all of the attention, but that one wasn't the new Roborock vacuum that I wanted to test the most.

Though I'll still get my hands on the Roborock Saros Z70 at some point, I was personally more interested in the Roborock Saros 10R: a way more practical robot vacuum from the 2025 fleet that still goes hard on premium upgrades.

What's special about the Roborock Saros 10R?

As Roborock's thinnest robot vacuum ever, the Roborock Saros 10R may not seem like it has room for a big navigational tech upgrade — or Roborock's second-most powerful suction power yet. But somehow, both of those are packed into a body that's barely more than three inches tall.

The Saros 10R clocks 20,000 Pa of suction power, only to be beaten by its sibling, the Saros 10's 22,000 Pa. Still, 20,000 Pa is a level that very few other robot vacs in the market even come close to. To put it in perspective, that's double the whoosh of my favorite robot vacuum from 2024, the Roborock Qrevo Master.

The other main grab here applies to how perceptive the vac is as it's maneuvering around your home. Compared to the typical LiDAR system, the Saros 10R axes the circular laser tower atop most robot vacs you're probably picturing. Instead, the Saros 10R is able to have that thin, flat top design due to its implementation of StarSight 2.0 with 3D ToF (Time of Flight) technology. That's some fancy NASA-coded terminology for a more precise sense of location within your walls and more precise detection of small objects.

The sticky crevice under the fridge is a horrifying place that most taller robot vacuums can't reach. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Rather than just relying on laser sensors as traditional LiDAR does, StarSight takes it a step further with 3D scanning of 21,600 sensor points around the room. With that, the Saros 10R can sniff out upwards of 108 different objects (that's up from the 73 objects that the first version of Starsight could detect). With the upgrade to the 2.0 version also comes Vertibeam Lateral Obstacle Avoidance to aid in delicately cleaning around irregular walls and furniture.

Now, this isn't the first time we've seen StarSight 2.0 — the 2024 Roborock Qrevo Slim also uses it. But the Qrevo Slim's 11,000 Pa of suction power pales in comparison to the Saros 10R's 20,000 Pa. Another Saros model, the Saros Z70, also has StarSight 2.0 technology, but it's expected to cost around $2,000 when it finally comes out. So impressively, the Saros 10R is the only StarSight model that hits 20,000 Pa without hitting the $2,000 price point.

Also, a little commotion for the Saros 10R's chic dock, please.

Robot vacuum for me, full length mirror for Leota. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

After years of testing robot vacuums that basically strictly exist in plasticky black or plasticky white designs, this dock's sleek mirrored face with rounded corners is a welcomed glow-up. (The fingerprints it easily attracts? Slightly less chic.) I still fully stand by my formal plea for robot vacuums to start coming in chrome gray to match stainless steel kitchen appliances, but I digress — the Roborock Saros 10R is a self-emptying dock you won't mind sitting out in your living room. At 19 inches tall x 15 inches wide x 12 inches deep, it's also on the compact side — it's smaller than Dreame X50 Ultra and Roborock Qrevo Master's docks.

Cleaning performance: Mopping and corner cleaning are the standouts

I want to talk about the 20,000 Pa of suction power first. On paper, that's the strongest robot vacuum I've had under my roof to date — incredible news for a person with barefoot standards as high as mine.

The suction power bump was most palpable when simply taking care of everyday debris that keeps me up at night if not cleaned: crumbs and rogue pieces of shredded cheese near the kitchen counter, kibble near the cat food bowls, kitty litter spread in a two-foot radius around both litter boxes, and strands of long hair everywhere. I sent the Saros 10R to tidy all of this on a daily basis (occasionally twice a day) and was almost always welcomed back into a pretty spotless room. The cleaning was incredibly consistent on dry debris of various sizes and textures, and I wasn't constantly feeling like using the robot vacuum was just a Band-Aid until I had time to actually go in with my trusty Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

Speaking of my Dyson, I will use its green laser to prove a point about the Saros 10R's competency on kitty litter (or any other small, crunchy remnants that will probably pop up in most people's homes).

Before and after running the Saros 10R around the litter box Dusty litter isn't super visible to the naked eye, but you notice when you step on it. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Nothing gets past the Dyson's laser. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Coverage on rugs was slightly more hit-or-miss than on hardwood or tile. The Saros 10R had about a 90 percent pickup rate on my medium-pile rugs, taking care of spilled chip crumbs and full Goldfish crackers, layers of shedding from my two cats, and long hair that I pulled directly out of my brush and threw on the floor (for science).

Smashing potato chips on purpose is one of the saddest parts of this job. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable I was kind of surprised that whole Goldfish were successfully picked up. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Unfortunately, the pickup percentage dwindled a bit on lower pile rugs. My cats sunbathe on the one in my room on a daily basis, so it's usually covered in a layer of cat hair not super visible unless you look at the bottom of your socks. One surefire way I can see how well a robot vacuum is doing on pet hair is to use my Shark PowerDetect stick vacuum afterward. The key here is that that Shark self-empties its dustbin into a larger dock each time I hang it back up, which means it's always starting with a completely empty, clear dustbin — and that means I can quickly pinpoint just how much gunk is being sucked up during the cleaning session at hand.

Maybe it's just wise to have the Saros 10R always do a double lap on pet hair. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable This image is my sleep paralysis demon. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

That Shark's dustbin should just not be that full after a robot vacuum dished out 20,000 Pa of suction power across it. Granted, I will say that I also did the Shark test on that gray rug a few paragraphs up, and the Saros 10R had clearly done a much more thorough job there. Higher pile is typically the trickier length for robot vacuums to comb through, but oddly enough, it seems backwards for the Saros 10R — I'm not sure if that has something to do with the side-by-side brushrolls versus the typically parallel ones or what.

This edge cleaning absolutely eats

I will say, though, that I'm not super mad about the mediocrity on low pile rugs because of how the Saros 10R aced one problem area that robot vacs always seem to struggle with: corner cleaning. Aside from heightened suction power all around, that level of detail in right angles and along edges can likely be attributed to both the flexible corner arms and upgraded StarSight that allows the bot to better assess walls, furniture, objects, and how close it can get to them.

More impressively, the close corner cleaning also applies to mopping. Robot mops that only have one large, mostly stationary singular pad just don't have much range of motion, whereas the side-by-side spinning mopping pads on the Saros 10R do. One swings on a hinge and extends out from under the robot vacuum to hit edges and 90-degree angles that a circular vacuum would fumble otherwise.

SEE ALSO: Dyson's cheapest laser vacuum made me feel bad about my dirty floors...in a good way

This is another crucial factor for the picky barefoot crowd who need to know a floor is actually being scrubbed from multiple angles. In my experience, the dual spinning design just provides more versatile physical agitation to thoroughly scrub at stains or wipe up stickiness — the big singular pad just feels like a glorified once-over with a washcloth.

I had no complaints about the Saros 10R's mopping performance on thin consistences like wine and soy sauce spills. Thicker drops like ranch and marinara sauce did risk getting pushed around before the Saros 10R had a chance to return to the dock to wash the pads, but overall, remnants weren't really left behind. Syrup was a struggle — the area around the original syrup incident was slightly sticky and smelled like syrup before I cleaned it by hand. Two cleaning passes are probably necessary for thicker, peskier spills like that.

The closeness of that mop to the table leg is just chef's kiss. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Automated mopping with actually good edge mopping has really come in handy for random droplets under the kitchen counter and for the upkeep of our front door situation. Usually, there are two stools plus a million pairs of shoes piled up under this island, and the whole area is just constantly covered in footprints, little rocks, hair, and other stuff like that. It's been nice to simply push everything out of the way, let the Saros 10R get all up in there, and then put everything back. It was particularly delicious to watch the Saros 10R successfully lap up the visible dust, crumbs, and hair that gather under that edge that a stick vacuum is too thick to reach.

But I think my favorite example of the Saros 10R's cleaning exhaustiveness comes when it has to vacuum and mop at the same time — for certain messes, that'll only go well if both parts are doing their job well. For instance, I decided to re-pot a snake plant (IDK what I did to kill it, don't come for me) in the middle of my living room. I made an absolute mess of moist potting soil on the hardwood, then sent the Saros 10R to vacuum and mop it at the same time. Just vacuuming would still leave a brown dusty film that isn't really the consistency to be sucked up, but just mopping would just turn that dirt into mud.

Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I was seriously impressed at how spotless that area was after the Saros 10R came through. I did send it for two passes because I assumed it'd miss some pieces the first time. The second trip covered any lingering pieces on the outskirts of the zone, with the mopping pads coming through and eliminating that brown dusty film. A cheap Roomba trying to tackle a pile of dirt would literally just make the mess bigger.

Navigation: Gets to the right spot without question

The few minutes that it took to unbox and set up the Saros 10R took longer than the Saros 10R did to complete its first mapping run of my apartment. That speediness didn't dog its accuracy — a majority of its room designations were correct, complete with notches already marked for large obstacles like turns in the wall or big pieces of furniture. All I had to do was drag some lines to split the very open-concept kitchen, living room, and entryway up. (The fact that the app has a room limit is weird, but OK.)

The Saros 10R knows where it sits in my living room, and correctly identified the cat tree in the corner. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Saros 10R correctly identified shoes, a dresser, a bed, and a live cat. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

During over a month of testing and use multiple times a day, the Saros 10R literally never got lost. I was almost always either doing a specific room or zone cleaning (rather than letting a full home cleaning rip), and I never had to give a second thought to whether it'd make it to the right spot, whether it'd actually cover the entire selected area, or whether it'd take extra long going on side missions that I didn't assign.

There wasn't really any getting stuck, either. The Saros 10R carefully weaved in and out of various table and chair legs, around cat food and water bowls, and under a bed with a chaotic storage situation underneath. My bathroom layout is a little tight, with a toilet, a litter box, and an egg-shaped hamper, and many robot vacuums give up instead of cleaning in between all of that stuff. The Saros 10R carved around all of them safely, even picking up most hairs and kitty litter by the wall.

Thank you for not getting stuck on my bath mats every damn time. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Past smart mapping, small obstacle avoidance is the other factor playing into a robot vacuum's navigation. It's definitely a crucial feature to have if there are cords or other random crap on the floor from time to time. While the Saros 10R's track record was good in my apartment, there were still some blips on small cat toys, one charger, and wiry string lights dangling on the floor. I don't expect perfection even from a top Roomba (my most trusted small obstacle avoidance tech), but I'm not sure that the whole StarSight upgrade is any more accurate than traditional LiDAR.

User-friendliness: A relatively quiet, pet-friendly addition to your home

Volume during cleaning obviously varies based on the suction level, which gets up to 68 decibels on max. I was impressed by how unobtrusive the automatic emptying whoosh is — around 73 decibels, which is a similar level to the rumble of a washing machine. It's much more muffled than I'm used to and does not scare the shit out of me every time.

If you have pets, the Saros 10R's livestream pet camera is yet another feature that helps this vacuum blend in with your home life. Like some older flagship Roborocks, the camera tab in the app allows you to see whatever the robot sees as it's driving, including an option to "search for the pet."

The paparazzi will not leave Sansa alone. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Is it a completely necessary feature? Probably not. But if you're a pet parent and you say you wouldn't use this, you're lying. A ton of people have standalone security cameras to keep tabs on their pets when they're not home, so adding that pet sitter-like feature to an appliance that's already roving your house is actually pretty practical.

Maintenance: Hands-off and competent, as expected

As expected from any top robot vacuum brand's premium models nowadays, the Saros 10R comes with a full self-cleaning dock that includes automatic dustbin emptying and automatic mopping pad washing and heated drying, as well as water tank refilling.

I personally find the autonomous mopping pad maintenance system to be so worth it if you, well, actually want to use the mop on a regular basis. When testing mopping robot vacuums that don't have the auto wash and dry system, I found myself not using mopping mode simply because I didn't feel like dealing with washing a soggy mopping pad every day. The Saros 10R made that part super easy and, as with most self-cleaning docks, also maintained its mops during mopping by returning to rinse them mid-clean.

Just pull the tank out of the dock, fill it up, and click it back in. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

One tiny thing I've noticed is that it feels like the clean water tank is always empty or the dirty water tank is always full. The tanks are definitely smaller than others in self-cleaning docks that I've seen, probably to keep the dock compact. Granted, I do send the Saros 10R out to mop a lot — my large 22-foot x 10-foot hardwood kitchen gets mopped almost every day, and my tile bathroom and the apartment entryway get it about every other day. The red light to refill the clean water tank comes on once every few days. Though it's more often than most of the robot vacs I've tested in the past, it's not outlandish. Plus, the dirty water is pretty damn gross every time I dump it, and that's just proof that the vac's scrubbing thoroughly. And when a robot mop is so reliable that building it into a daily routine becomes a reflex, more frequent refilling just comes with the territory.

When it comes to maintaining the brush roll, the Saros 10R doesn't really require regular upkeep of tangled hair. This is thanks to its side-by-side DuoDivide brush rolls that spin independently and pull hair toward the middle and up into the dustbin. After about two weeks of using the Saros 10R every day, I got my scissors out, expecting to need to cut some wrapped hairballs out of the bottom. To my surprise, next to no hair was wrapped around, marking the first robot vacuum I've ever tried that actually follows through on its "anti-tangle" claims.

Not a wrapped strand in sight after two weeks of daily cleaning. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Downsides: A few quirks for being so expensive

The Roborock Saros 10R is one of the most expensive robot vacuums on the market in 2025. It is the norm for a brand's high-enders to near or topple the $1,500 price point, and the Saros 10R is quite advanced. Still, many people would probably laugh out loud at the thought of spending that much on a vacuum.

But FWIW, the $1,599.99 is actually quite modest when you consider that Roborock's most expensive flagship from 2024, the S8 MaxV Ultra, also debuted at $1,599.99. That vacuum only has 8,000 Pa of suction power (compared to 20,000) and obviously doesn't use the upgraded obstacle avoidance system that the Saros 10R does, yet debuted at the same price. So the Saros 10R gets credit there.

However, the argument could be made that a robot vacuum this expensive should operate pretty much perfectly, and the Saros 10R doesn't. Firstly, though the whole StarSight thing was supposed to be a big selling point, I'm not sure if it's necessarily better than other small obstacle avoidance tech out there, like Roborock's Reactive AI or iRobot's camera-based PrecisionVision navigation. My Saros 10R did run over some cat toys and a white phone charger once (granted, it was kind of blending in with a rug with white swirls) and completely ate a wiry string of twinkle lights. Even the smartest botvacs are bound to slip up every once in a while, but still.

SEE ALSO: As a Dyson stan, I wouldn't tell anyone to buy the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum

The clean water tank draining and the dirty water tank filling "quickly" can't even fully be classified as a downside, in my opinion, because I do think it's a testament to how often I'm opting to have this thing mop. For the price, I do think the Saros 10R should automatically dispense detergent into the clean water tank from inside the dock.

It's also possible that the water runs out so often because the Saros 10R takes forever to mop. Surely it's expending more water than necessary. It's not typically an issue unless I'm in a hurry for whatever reason, but sometimes, I'm like, "PLEASE be done soon."

One other minor thing about the dock is that the auto-empty suction doesn't always "work" the whole way. I frequently see a dust bunny hanging out the back of the robot vacuum itself where it connects to the dock. That's not a huge deal.

And while I don't expect every dock to be front accessible so that the top can be used like a side table (like the Roomba Combo Max 10), I do like when the water buckets are flat so that I can at least set decor on them that can be moved when the tanks need to be refilled.

The competition

Overall, it just makes the most sense to simply pit the Saros 10R against other robot vacuums in the same price range. The main competitor is the Roborock Saros 10 (no R), named nearly identically for reasons unbeknownst to man. (Roborock did the same thing with the million Qrevo models from last year.) While the Saros 10 does squeeze out 2,000 Pa more suction power than the 10R, that's a negligible difference when you're already at 20,000. The mopping pad setup would be my main deciding factor, as I've witnessed more thorough results from a dual spinning pad design (like the 10R's) over the outdated, singular D-shaped pad (like the Saros 10's) that can't really scootch out from under the vacuum into corners. I'll keep you posted on whether the regular Saros 10's Reactive AI obstacle avoidance is any better or worse than the 10R's StarSight.

SEE ALSO: Why Eufy's X10 Pro Omni is the most surprising robot vacuum I've tested all year

For a cheaper-but-still-top-notch Roborock pick, I still think the Qrevo Master would be excellent in most households. Though it has half the suction power as the Saros 10R, its 10,000 Pa still fared well in my apartment. It has the same spinning mopping pads, self-cleaning dock, and pet camera, and is frequently on sale for as low as $899.99.

The other Saros model dropped at CES 2025 was the Z70, but the difference between the Saros 10R and the Saros Z70 is easier to spot: one has an arm, and one doesn't. While it sounds cool upon first read, the Saros Z70's practicality dwindles quickly when you learn that it'll probably cost around $2,000 for cleaning capabilities not much more powerful than the 10R. The Saros 10R certainly isn't about to be running over little items any more than the Z10 is — it just won't be putting them in a nearby basket. In the words of my fellow Senior Shopping Reporter Haley Henschel, if you can afford a $2,000 robot vacuum with an arm, "why not just hire a maid?"

SEE ALSO: Top 3 best robot vacuums from CES 2025, from coolest to most practical

In terms of non-Roborock models, iRobot's best fighter would be the Roomba Combo 10 Max. It's the only Roomba that washes and dries its mopping pads and refills its own water tank, and could be a good bit more affordable than the Saros 10R if you can find it on sale for $899 or $999. While I'm slightly more confident in iRobot's obstacle avoidance, the Combo 10 Max kept missing debris along edges and in corners of my apartment. It also uses a singular flat mop pad that doesn't cover a lot of ground on one pass.

The Saros 10R's biggest competition from the class of CES 2025 is the $1,699.99 Dreame X50 Ultra, whose claim to fame is climbing — over small obstacles and thresholds, not up and down stairs. Like my take on the robotic arm thing, I personally don't care about these fancier physical methods of avoiding obstacles as long as nothing is being eaten. Despite matching 20,000 Pa suction power, the X50 Ultra I'm testing has left some rolled-up hairballs and fuzzies on more of my rugs than the 10R has. It also has a plasticky build and a not-so-compact dock.

Is the Roborock Saros 10R worth it?

When it costs $1,600, a botvac like the Roborock Saros 10R should be completing damn near every single task flawlessly. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it does.

But I still think the Saros 10R is a wickedly well-rounded robot vacuum that would be a totally satisfactory upgrade in a lot of homes, especially ones with a lot of hard floors. Its suction power and mopping work together in tandem to achieve results more reliable than what I've ever experienced, even if its work on low pile rugs hasn't been as exceptional as I'd expect for a premium vac. If you've been frustrated specifically with corner cleaning, scrubbing, or low-clearance furniture with other vacuums, I'd say the Saros 10R will piss you off way less.

But would I wait for the verdict on the other blockbuster CES 2025 robot vacuums, or the verdict on one of the fancier Roombas that were just announced. If you still decide to go for the Saros 10R, that'll at least give you time to wait for a sale.

Opens in a new window Credit: Roborock Roborock Saros 10R $1,599.99 at Roborock
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Severance is borrowing a brilliant idea from Terminator 2

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

If, at some point in your life, you've managed to sit down and watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day without knowing anything about the plot, then you've achieved the rare joy of experiencing one of science fiction's great twists as it was intended. (If you've never seen Terminator 2 and somehow, by the grace of James Cameron, still don't know the premise, do yourself a favor and watch it now. It's okay; we'll wait.)

The twist we're talking about, of course, is the startling revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger's ruthless T-800 robot is no longer trying to murder the good guys. This time, he's been sent from the future to protect them from something even more dangerous.

In a moment that even the film's trailer couldn't resist spoiling, Schwarzenegger pulls out a shotgun and aims it at a young John Connor (Edward Furlong) before barking, "Get down," in order to get a shot at the even deadlier T-1000 behind John. The world would never be the same.

In the decades since, the trope of villain-turned-savior has become a proud tradition of the genre. For example, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki started out as a supervillain fighting the Avengers, but he ultimately wound up saving the entire multiverse in a spin-off show of his own. And now, another beloved sci-fi show appears to be on the precipice of pulling a Judgement Day twist of its own.

That show is Severance, and in this case, the villain-turned-savior is none other than Harmony Cobel. 

Is Severance setting up its own Terminator 2 twist? Credit: Apple TV+

Played by Patricia Arquette, Cobel first appeared as a vindictive middle manager on the mysterious Severed Floor of Lumon Industries, where she seemed to take pleasure in torturing Mark (Adam Scott) and his fellow Innies. But in Severance Season 2, the character has suddenly become much more interesting, potentially setting up a twist even bigger than anything we've seen from the show so far.

Cobel has been noticeably absent from much of Severance's second season. After taking the blame for the "Macrodata Uprising" that capped off Season 1, she was forced out of her job. Soon afterward, she got in her car and drove off into the distance. But several weeks later, in Episode 8 ("Sweet Vitriol"), we finally learn what Cobel has been up to — and a whole lot more. 

The episode reveals that (spoiler alert!) Cobel invented the severance procedure, which explains both why she's so invested in managing Lumon's Severed Floor and why she's so mad about losing that job. Cobel returns to the town where she grew up and finds her old notebooks, which prove she came up with the original idea, though it's unclear exactly what she intends to do with them. But as she drives back towards the action and picks up her phone to talk to Mark, she barks three words that may hint at what's to come: "Tell me everything."

As Severance's several plotlines prepare to collide in Season 2's final two episodes, Cobel is sure to play a major role. Will she use this new information to reclaim her old job? Or will she wield it as a weapon to destroy Lumon and expose the severed procedure for what it really is? That second option is much more exciting and gives Arquette's character a chance to pivot from villain to hero just in time for a 75-minute-long season finale. The fact that she's seemingly already allied herself with Mark only increases the possibility that Cobel has already switched sides. 

Why Severance's big twist could be even better than Terminator 2's  When we first met Harmony Cobel and Mr. Milchick way back in Season 1, episode 1. Credit: Apple TV+

In the case of Terminator 2, the reason for Arnold Schwarzenegger's turn from villain to hero had less to do with the movie's plot and more to do with its star. In the seven years between the original Terminator and the sequel, Schwarzenegger became a Hollywood icon, thanks to both violent action flicks like Commando and kid-friendly comedies like Kindergarten Cop. Making him a ruthless killer again simply wasn't an option, so James Cameron turned his Terminator into a hero.

"To keep Arnold as that Terminator would break our ethical boundaries," Cameron told one journalist on the set of T2 back in 1991. "He's an idol for young audiences all over the world."

And so, Schwarzenegger became the hero.

When it comes to Harmony Cobel, we have to assume that the creators of Severance have been a bit more strategic. (Episode 8's big reveal may have come as a surprise, but the clues were there all along if you knew where to look for them.) Still, regardless of the reason why Cobel's character seems to be pivoting from villain to hero, if it really does happen, it stands to be just as iconic and influential a moment in science fiction history as Schwarzenegger's big intro in Terminator 2

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.

Hallow Road review: Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys have come to scare you senseless

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

It's every parent's worst nightmare. The phone rings in the middle of the night, and it's your child sobbing, calling for your help, and time is running out. What would you do to save them? 

This is the beginning of Hallow Road, the latest thriller from Babak Anvari, director of the critically acclaimed psychological drama Under the Shadow. A call in the night spurs a pair of parents to race out to find their daughter, who's calling them from the scene of car crash. But set mostly in the car on the way to the collision, this on-the-road tale plumbs deeper than the everyday fears parents experience, into something remarkably more disturbing. Written by William Gillies, Hallow Road offers a claustrophobic setting where fear comes from the unknown of what's going on at the other end of the phone line. 

The film's lean premise is certainly enough to intrigue. But the gripping performances of Pike and Rhys, combined with Anvari's ruthlessly riveting direction, will have you gasping for air. 

SEE ALSO: SXSW: What are the movies and shows you need to know about? Hallow Road is a story of parents desperate to save their child. 

Somewhere in England, stoic mother Maddie (Rosamund Pike) gets a frantic phone call from her 18-year-old daughter Alice (Megan McDonnell). Tearfully, the college student tells her mother that she's been in a car collision, and she's about 40 minutes away on a heavily forested stretch known as Hallow Road. And while she's okay, someone is lying in the road, unmoving. 

Maddie, who is a paramedic, calmly begins by asking clarifying questions of her daughter, like if she's called emergency services for help. Meanwhile, Frank — instantly anxious  — insists they rush to the scene. In real time, the couple will clamor into the car, tensions already high. As they comfort Alice over the phone, allusions are made to a fight earlier in the evening, something that caused the girl to run off into the night in distress. But there's also a growing conflict between the mother and father, as one wishes to confront the potentially catastrophic truth of this road incident and the other is desperate to coddle their scared child. 

Incredibly, Hallow Road is shot mostly within the sports utility vehicle the parents drive to the titular scene. Showing remarkable restraint, Gillies' screenplay never urges Anvari to cut to Alice or what she can see from inside her vehicle. Instead, all we see of her during her parents' mad dash is a profile photo beaming up from the caller ID on Maddie's phone. Though it's a chipper photo of a young woman smiling in a colorful knit cap, it's unnerving because of the sharp contrast of her voice, unhinged and weepy on the other end of the line. Other sounds will creep into the call as well, bringing a spine-tingling uncertainty to what exactly is going down on Hallow Road

Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys are jaw-droppingly intense in Hallow Road

This setup of racing to a crash might seem a bit thin for an 80-minute movie, but Hallow Road is pulse-poundingly alive because of the brewing fight between Maddie and Frank. While he's desperate to protect Alice from any negative fallout from this collision, Maddie fears facing the consequences are the only way forward. She cryptically suggests you can't run from what you've done, even if you get away with it. But the full meaning of this will take time to unfold. And in that time, each passing minute throbs with this couple's mounting fear, resentment, and guilt.

Rhys is a raw nerve, bellowing to be in control in a situation far beyond him. Pike, who played the terrifying anti-heroine of Gone Girl and the blithely cruel matriarch of Saltburn, begins weary yet resolute. But as the story races along, each will offer a surprising and fascinating performance that demands to be seen again, in part because of the terrifying secrets they reveal. 

Because the premise of this movie pits its stars against a increasingly menacing phone call, Hallow Road will undoubtedly draw comparisons to movies like the emergency services dispatch thriller The Guilty (either its Danish original or the Jake Gyllenhaal-fronted U.S. remake) or Tom Hardy's car-centric drama Locke. But Hallow Road abruptly veers off from these grounded dramas when someone else shows up on Alice's side of the call. Is it a good Samaritan who just happened to be on a long, dark, remote road at 3 a.m. in the morning? Or does this family have a whole new thing to worry about? Trapped in the car with Maddie and Frank, we, the audience, are in their unenviable shoes. And it's wickedly exhilarating. 

Don't look for spoilers on Hallow Road

Surely, it's tempting. Out of its World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film and TV Festival, Hallow Road was swiftly gaining buzz among attendees and critics. Personally, I'm glad that colleagues said only that I should see it without going into details. I knew the basic premise. But the gnarly turns in Gillies' script came as a true surprise, giving this critic a rare rush of actually being caught off guard. 

I've been careful not to reveal where Hallow Road goes to protect its deliciously devilish secrets. But I can tell you without spoilers that Anvari's direction is masterful. Though confined to the car, the cinematography of Kit Fraser brings energy through whip pans between parents, and a very tight close-up hovering over a wide-eyed stare of horror, as they can see only the road ahead of them but can hear something strange on the other end of the line. Pike and Rhys lean into this claustrophobic energy, guzzling up all the air in the car with their combativeness, resentments, and agony. And the soundscape of Alice's tinny voice over the phone colliding with curious sounds in the forest around her are so genuinely frightening that I full-on screamed. Twice. 

In the end, Hallow Road is a sensationally scary thriller not only for the surprises it packs but also for the metaphor it makes about parenting. Trapped with a mother and father in a battle for their child's future, the hypothetical becomes intensely real and really harrowing. Like Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp's sophisticated haunted house movie Presence, the anxiety of letting your kid out into the world becomes its own horror, with genre elements feeding in to make that terror hit like a lightning bolt; it will electrify your nerves and rattle you right down to your bones. So when you walk away from Hallow Road, you'll carry its stomach-churning scares with you, perhaps thinking, "There but for the grace of God go I." 

Hallow Road was reviewed out its World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film and TV Festival.

Mickey 17s creeper plushes are the movies real red carpet stars

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 may star multiple Robert Pattinsons and Mark Ruffalo as Space Trump, but the real scene-stealers are none other than the film's creepers.

SEE ALSO: 'Mickey 17' review: Bong Joon Ho attacks Trump fascism in dizzying sci-fi comedy

Inhabitants of the ice planet Niflheim, the creepers are what you'd get if you crossed roly-polies with the Graboids from Tremors. They vary in size, with each life stage coming with its own unique qualities.

The babies, for example, evoke the cuteness of another great Bong creature: super pig Okja. (Mickey 17's creature designer Jang Heechul also worked on Okja and Bong's first creature feature, The Host.) Meanwhile, Bong told Letterboxd that the intimidating Mama Creeper was inspired by The Godfather's Vito Corleone. Her maternal fierceness and leadership instinct also calls to mind Aliens' xenomorph queen, albeit less bloodthirsty. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bong revealed that other major inspirations for the creepers included everything from croissants and bison to puppies and armadillos.

All these traits combine to create an instantly memorable sci-fi creature that, like the marvelous Dune sandworms, pulls focus from its human castmates whenever it's onscreen. And as the press tour for Mickey 17 got underway, the creepers' scene-stealing tendencies extended to real life.

While no actual creepers could hit the road with Mickey 17's stars (I wish!), plush baby creepers did pop up throughout the press tour. Check out the creeper plush's majestically cute red carpet debut:

Then, feast your eyes on Ruffalo, Bong, Naomi Ackie, and Steven Yeun playing with the baby creepers:

Robert Pattinson is even holding a creeper plush like it's his evening handbag during a red carpet interview.

Cute and they make the perfect accessory? Say less!

Comments under any creeper-centric video rightfully celebrate these plush creatures and ask where they can be bought. But while there are some unofficial, likely scam websites claiming to sell them (an offer I trust about as much as I trust Ruffalo's villainous Kenneth Marshall), there is no official way to buy your own baby creeper plush yet. Mashable has reached out to Warner Bros. for further information on if and when Mickey 17's creeper plushes will be made available to the public.

Hopefully it's soon, because it's clear the people yearn for creeper plushes. And after their stunning debut on the Mickey 17 press run, who can blame them?

Mickey 17 is now in theaters.

Want to learn piano? AI can teach you for much cheaper than private lessons

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

TL;DR: Learn to play piano with Skoove Premium Piano Lessons, an AI-powered teacher, now offering lifetime subscriptions for $149.99 (reg. $299). 

Always wanted to learn piano? Nowadays, you don't need a teacher, and you certainly don't need to sit through boring classes. All it takes is a tablet, a keyboard, and your favorite robot.

Skoove is an AI-powered piano tutoring app that listens while you play and gives you curated feedback and useful resources to improve your skills. Normally, a Skoove lifetime subscription would cost $299, but now you can get it for only $149.99. 

AI can teach you to play piano

Have you seen how much piano lessons with a human teacher cost lately? For less than the cost of a few hours of private instruction, Skoove provides virtual piano lessons for life.

You don't need to know how to play to get started. All you need is a piano and a little time. These lessons can be taken at your leisure, so they fit into even the busiest of schedules. And it's compatible with any piano or keyboard so you don't need to buy a new instrument just to get started.

You'll have access to 400 lessons and thousands of instructional videos with this Skoove subscription. And you won't just be learning passively — thanks to AI, Skoove can recognize the notes you play and provide real-time feedback as you go. 

Skoove offers a diverse range of genres, so you can learn the music you really love. You can conquer your favorite Beatles tune or learn to bust out some Beethoven. And you'll never have a shortage of song options thanks to the monthly updates that offer new music and lessons. 

More than one million people are already taking advantage of Skoove's innovative piano lessons and sharpening their skills at home. Your lifetime subscription ensures you can continuously improve your playing right alongside them. 

Lifelong access to Skoove Premium Piano Lessons are just $149.99 (Reg. $299) 

StackSocial prices subject to change. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Skoove Premium Skoove Premium Piano Lessons: Lifetime Subscription $149.99
$299 Save $149.01 Get Deal

How to get perfect PDF conversions every time

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

TL;DR: Save an additional 20% on a PDF Converter Pro lifetime license with code SAVE20 at checkout for a limited time only.

What a disaster: Every so-called free PDF converter seems to follow the same pattern. Either they want your credit card before letting you download or they completely wreck your file’s formatting. The truth is you need to pay for the best PDF converter tools.

But you don’t have to pay subscription fees or shell out for name-brand tools that offer way more features than you’ll ever use, just grab something basic like PDF Converter Pro that gets the job done affordably. This week, you can use code SAVE20 at checkout to get a lifetime license for Windows or Mac at $23.99 (reg. $29.99).

What can PDF Converter Pro do?

Next time you have to convert a PDF, you don’t have to go searching for some sketchy online tool — just open the app on your PC or Mac. Then, convert to or from formats like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Text, HTML, PNG, and JPG.

PDF Converter Pro works quickly and accurately. Once you get your converted document, you’ll notice that the original layout — whether it was a PDF or another format — is completely preserved, no matter if you had images, text, or hyperlinks.

Beyond simple conversions, the PDF tool also has various editors available. Merge and split pages, extract images, or add/remove password protections as needed.

Grab this PDF converter tool for Windows and Mac while it’s on sale for $23.99 with code SAVE20 at checkout (reg. $29.99).

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Opens in a new window Credit: Acethinker PDF Converter Pro: Lifetime License $23.99
$29.99 Save $6 Get Deal

Who needs a PS5? This console is $90 and comes with 70,000+ games.

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

TL;DR: Save $70 on the Kinhank retro-inspired gaming console for a limited time (reg. $159.99).

There’s a reason our readers are flipping out over this gaming console — it’s offering something big brands won’t. You get over 70,000 games pre-installed, from retro classics to modern favorites, plus built-in 4K streaming capabilities. And the best part? It’s only $90 with free shipping (reg. $159.99).

Soak in endless entertainment

A PlayStation or Xbox would cost you a fortune, and you’ll still have to buy every single game. So, it just makes sense that anyone who doesn’t want to play one of today’s newer games is grabbing this console to kick back and have fun game nights.

You’ll find tons of retro favorites like Space Invaders, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Pac-Man where family and friends of all ages can hop in and enjoy the fun. Your purchase includes two wireless controllers for multiplayer games, and you could turn a gathering into a tournament-style night.

When you aren’t playing games, the console can also stream movies. Add your favorite streaming apps with built-in Android OS, and use the included remote to easily navigate through when hosting movie nights.

Get your Kinhank Super Console while they’re still on sale for $90 with free shipping (reg. $159.99). No coupon is needed to get this price.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Kinhank Kinhank Super Console X2 Pro Retro Gaming Emulator & Streaming Console $89.97
$159.99 Save $70.02 Get Deal

Is the ick just a lack of attraction?

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

Is it an ick? Or do you just not fancy them?

The term was originally coined in 1999 in an episode of Ally McBeal (Season 1, episode 15 to be exact), and later gained widespread popularity in the 2020s on social media. Now firmly cemented in the dating lexicon and pop culture, the ick is a term which describes the phenomenon of getting a sudden (and at times inexplicable) wave of revulsion, cringe, or dislike for the person you're dating. The causes of the ick range from the understandable — being rude to waitstaff on dates, disrespectful behaviour — to the downright niche. In a list of icks currently being circulated on WhatsApp, examples include: "Two phones on table," "Grown adults on manual scooters," "Spotify with ads," "Coloured bed sheets," to name a few.

The causes of the ick range from the understandable...to the downright niche.

The ick can be helpful at times, too. As I write in The Love Fix — a non-fiction book about why dating is so hard right now — the ick can come in handy when we're struggling with romantic rejection or finding it hard to move on from a connection that didn't work out: "If it helps, view their disinterest as an ick. Let it turn you off. View their indifference as a trait that makes you lose attraction to them."

I have a theory that this term is just shorthand for a lack of physical attraction. Take, for example, the time I got the ick when a guy I was dating had a strawberry seed stuck to the tip of his nose. He'd done nothing wrong, but when I looked at his face, all I could see was the seed on his face staring back at me. In this case of the ick, I could no longer hide from a fact I'd been avoiding for some time: I just wasn't physically attracted to my boyfriend. "He just doesn't do it for you?" as Ally McBeal's Renée succinctly put it.

The role of disgust in partner selection

In many ways, the ick can present as a turn off or a strong feeling of disgust. Evolutionary psychologists have extensively studied the role of disgust in relation to human survival.

Disgust has evolved to protect humans by encouraging them to avoid pathogens or anything that might cause disease. Sexual disgust discouraged humans from being attracted to partners with traits that might present threats to reproduction, such as health or genetic risks.

It's difficult to see how someone ordering soup of the day or who has their phone torch on unintentionally could be interpreted as a threat to reproduction, but here we are. But, from an evolutionary psychology perspective, we're wired to lose attraction when we experience disgust.

The importance of similarity in human attraction

I put this idea to a social psychologist specialising in human attraction: is the ick just a lack of attraction? Professor Viren Swami, social psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University, explained the difficulty in answering this question stems from the fact "the ick isn't a scientific term; rather, it's a phrase used in contemporary popular culture, which also means how the phrase is used can vary widely."

"I suspect icks signify the importance of similarity, particularly in the early stages of a relationship. We all have beliefs about how we think the world around us 'should work' — what is right, what is just, what is correct," says Swami.

SEE ALSO: How does orientation affect the dating app experience?

So, why is similarity important in the realm of human attraction? Social psychologists have extensively studied a phenomenon called the "similarity-attraction effect," which hinges on the idea that people are drawn to people who are similar to themselves in key respects. Why do we look for similarity in the people around us? Social psychologist Donn Byrne put forth the theory that humans have a foundational need to view the world as logical and consistent — this is called the "effectance motive." This means, we favour people who validate our ideas and views, who agree with us, and thus, reinforce the logic and consistency of the world around us.

Swami tells me that we want other people to share our views about how the world works "because that satisfies our 'effectance motive'." "But if someone behaves differently or does things in ways that feel 'wrong' to us, our effectance motive is no longer satisfied and that can cause anxiety or even repulsion," he adds. "In the early stages of a relationship, even minor differences in opinion or behaviour can feel like a big deal, precisely because our effectance motive is not being satisfied."

Is it the ick? Or just emotional unavailability?

Has the ick become a get-out-of-jail-free card for emotionally unavailable daters? Tom Stroud — Bumble ambassador and host of the Why Do Men?, a podcast about male dating behaviour, and star of Love Is Blind UK — thinks the ick is "a subconscious reaction which is symptomatic of something bigger." Stroud feels icks have become a "normalised way to justify losing interest" without engaging with the reality of waning attraction.

"Rather than interrogating the deeper reasons why attraction fades — compatibility, emotional availability, or fear of intimacy — people lean on the language of ‘icks’ to avoid engaging with those uncomfortable truths," he adds. "It’s easier to say, 'I can’t date him because he runs for the bus' than to admit, 'I’m not emotionally ready' or 'I never actually fancied him that much to begin with.'"

"The problem isn’t that ‘icks’ exist," Stroud adds. "It’s that they’ve been turned into a get-out-of-jail-free card for emotional avoidance. Instead of reflecting on what we really want in a partner, we outsource that decision to a fleeting moment of discomfort." 

SEE ALSO: What is attachment theory and how does it impact sex and relationships?

Annabelle Knight, dating and relationship expert at Lovehoney, echoes that avoidant attachment styles can play a role in the ick. “People who have an avoidant attachment style may get the ick more often as a way to distance themselves from their partner when intimacy starts to increase; it’s often a subconscious defence mechanism," says Knight.

What if you find yourself on the receiving end of the ick? Stroud says it's important to remember it's not a personal failure — "it’s just someone realising they’re not as into you as they thought." "And while it can be frustrating, it’s also a blessing in disguise. The right person isn’t going to completely lost interest the minute they discover your secret comic book collection or your lucky birthday pants," he adds.

Does the ick say more about us than the other person?

The ick is so firmly embedded in the popular zeitgeist, we use the term liberally, sometimes without fully realising what's at the root of this feeling. I firmly believe in trusting your instincts when it comes to dating — if something feels off, you should listen to that feeling and act accordingly.

But when the ick is something arbitrary like witnessing your partner running for a bus or rolling their ankle, it's worth spending some time with that reaction to try and understand where it's coming from. Could it be that you're just not that attracted to the person?

Knight suggests reflecting on why you might be feeling the ick. "Are you scared to get close to this person? Are you being too picky? Do you need a little more time to get comfortable? Quite often, the icks we feel about other people can reflect things we’re uncomfortable with about ourselves, rather than anything that person has done," she says. "Ask yourself if your response is appropriate or is it a little extreme for the ‘crime’ committed."

So, is the ick just a lack of attraction? Well, if it's disgust you're feeling, then yes! If it's a jolt that's alerting you to a strong dissimilarity to a person — also yes! But, if it's something deeper, like a fear of getting close to someone, you may need to interrogate what's behind this feeling.

Netflixs Adolescence review: One of the best, most devastating shows of 2025

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

For anyone who's seen Boiling Point — Philip Barantini's one-shot kitchen drama starring Stephen Graham — Adolescence is surely high on the to-watch list.

Co-created by Graham himself alongside frequent collaborator Jack Thorne, and directed by Barantini, the four-part Netflix drama/thriller takes Boiling Point's one-take format and multiplies it across four settings, following the shattered lives of a family whose 13-year-old son is accused of murdering a classmate.

Like Boiling Point, it's tense and hard to watch. But it's also stunningly acted, incredibly well written, and impossible to look away from.

SEE ALSO: The best Netflix TV shows of 2024 What's Adolescence about?

The show establishes its highly stressful tone early on with a dawn raid. Police batter down the door of the Miller family and march inside with guns drawn, ignoring the shock and confusion of dad Eddie (Graham), mum Manda (Christine Tremarco), and older sister Lisa (Amelie Pease) and going straight to the room of teenager Jamie (Owen Cooper). It quickly becomes apparent that he's under arrest for murder, and that DI Bascome (Top Boy's Ashley Walters) and DS Frank (Andor's Faye Marsay) have a strong case.

What follows is an unbroken hour at the local police station, where the camera roves between small-talking officers, wary solicitors, and the devastated Miller family as they huddle in a sterile waiting room and try to piece together what their son — who maintains his innocence — has been accused of.

It's TV at its most anxiety-inducing, somehow made even more intense by the unrelenting one-shot format. Like the Millers we're not given the luxury of cut-aways — we have to experience the entire chaotic ordeal alongside them in real time. The subsequent episodes (each of which is its own one-shot) jump forward by days and then months, giving us an insight into the aftermath, first at Jamie's school, then during a therapy session, and then finally coming back full circle to the Millers as they attempt to rebuild their lives.

Credit: Ben Blackall/Netflix Adolescence's one-shot format is a directing masterpiece.

Making a miniseries where each episode is shot in one take sounds more like a technical exercise than something that'll benefit the viewer. But the thing is, it does. Barantini's ambitious directorial format works perfectly for this tense show, and the change in locations between episodes keeps things fresh. The police station and school settings of the first two episodes are a chaos of sound and movement, an assault on the senses that mirrors what the characters are feeling. The third episode — which essentially just features Jamie and a psychologist (A Thousand Blows' Erin Doherty) — bubbles with the tension of a play. And the finale follows the Millers through a birthday, where they try to make the best of it despite everything. Here, the camera refuses to look away as the characters alternate between anger, sadness, and brief moments of happiness.

Calling Adolescence a TV show feels like it isn't doing it justice. It's somewhere between TV, film, and theatre, almost a new type of viewing experience altogether. The performances are crucial here, and fortunately everyone — from veterans like Graham and Walters to newcomers Cooper and Pease — does an outstanding job. The realism is constant, comprehensive, and painful.

Episode 2, which takes place at at school, is one hour of chaos. Credit: Ben Blackall/Netflix Does Adolescence have any weaknesses?

The subject matter at the heart of the show is difficult, and the story is so relentlessly miserable that it won't be for everyone. As two characters discuss directly in one episode, the focus is also very much on the accused rather than the victim, who is little more than a name in the show. But Adolescence's story isn't a crime mystery so much as a psychological study — it's an exploration of the manosphere culture that's having a real world affect on teenagers, and the societal and familial triggers that might lead to a seemingly ordinary 13-year-old doing something unthinkable.

On this level, and on almost all others, the show is chillingly effective.

Adolescence is streaming now on Netflix.

NYT Mini crossword answers, hints for March 13, 2025

Mashable - 6 hours 24 min ago

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, March 13, 2025:

AcrossThe slightest bit
  • The answer is ATad.

Like a crossword clue about crossword clues
  • The answer is Meta.

Sports shocker … with a hint to the circled letters
  • The answer is Upset.

Sign of life
  • The answer is Pulse.

Small arguments
  • The answer is Spats.

DownMake excited
  • The answer is AmpUp.

Automaker with a Cybertruck
  • The answer is Tesla.

"This is ___" (disclaimer accompanying an alarm)
  • The answer is ATest.

First ones might be awkward
  • The answer is Dates.

FedEx competitor
  • The answer is UPS.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

Pokémon Go Maker Niantic Sells Unit to Saudi Fund for $3.5 Billion

NYT Technology - 6 hours 53 min ago
Scopely said it would buy Niantic’s video game business, which includes Pokémon Go, for $3.5 billion. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquired Scopely in 2023.

Meta blocks whistleblower from promoting book, guaranteeing way more people will read it

Mashable - 7 hours 41 min ago

Meta has obtained an emergency ruling blocking whistleblower and former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams from promoting her memoir Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. In other news, have you seen Barbra Streisand's house?

The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) handed down the emergency arbitration ruling on Wednesday, finding that Meta was likely to succeed in its case against Wynn-Williams for breach of contract. Specifically, Meta alleges that Wynn-Williams violated the non-disparagement agreement she signed as an employee.

SEE ALSO: Meta built content censorship system to break into China, report says

"The Emergency Arbitrator finds that, after reviewing the briefs and hearing oral argument, [Meta] has established a likelihood of success on the merits of its contractual non-disparagement claim against Respondent Wynn-Williams, and that immediate and irreparable loss will result in the absence of emergency relief," the arbitrator wrote in his ruling.

As such, the ICDR ruled that Wynn-Williams is temporarily prohibited from promoting Careless People or further distributing audio and electronic versions of it. She is also temporarily barred from making any "disparaging, critical, or otherwise detrimental comments" about Meta, and has been instructed to retract any such comments she has previously made.

This does not mean that Wynn-Williams' claims in Careless People are false, nor that they are true. It simply means that the ICDR considers it likely that she violated her contract by sharing them.

Wynn-Williams was previously Meta's director of global public policy, with Careless People covering her time at the company from 2011 to 2017. The memoir paints a grossly unflattering picture of the tech giant, including allegations of sexual harassment and claims that Facebook ignored internal concerns about its impact on democracy and human rights.

In its review of the book, The New York Times called Careless People an "insider account of a company that she says was run by status-hungry and self-absorbed leaders… even as Facebook became a vector for disinformation campaigns and cozied up to authoritarian regimes."

This week it was reported that Wynn-Williams also filed a whistleblower complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April, alleging that Facebook (now Meta) misled investors about its efforts to enter China. According to the complaint, in 2015 Facebook developed a censorship system intended for use by the Chinese government in an effort to enter the Chinese market.

Meta ultimately fired Wynn-Williams in 2017, which she claims was retaliation for her sexual harassment complaints. Meta maintains that it fired Wynn-Williams for "poor performance and toxic behavior" and that while it had been interested in operating in China, they ultimately did not come to any agreement with the country's government. Still, this doesn't mean that Meta didn't try.

"[Careless People] is a mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives," Meta said in a statement shared with several publications.

Mashable has reached out to Meta for comment.

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism was published this week by Macmillan.

38 of the best AI courses you can take online for free

Mashable - 10 hours 15 min ago

TL;DR: A wide range of free AI courses are available to take on Udemy.

It's possible that AI is going to eventually take over the world, but we should have a few years before we get to the point of no return. So how should we approach those years? We may as well learn how to make the most out of AI before it deems that we're all obsolete.

A wide range of online courses on AI can be found on Udemy. And better yet, some of the best examples can be taken for free. We've checked out everything on offer and lined up a selection of standout courses to get you started.

These are the best online AI courses you can take for free this month:

These free online courses don't include certificates of completion or direct instructor messaging, but you still get unrestricted access to all the video content. You can learn at a pace that suits you, so what's stopping you from enrolling?

Find the best free AI courses on Udemy.

Opens in a new window Credit: Udemy AI Courses Free at Udemy Get Deal

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