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Just because the temperatures have fallen doesn't mean camping season is over. As long as you're geared up with some good equipment, fall camping can be a great experience. Check out some of our favorite camping deals this week.
Best camping deals at REI Best tent deal Mountain Hardware Mineral King 2 Tent with Footprint $226.93 at REI (save $98.07) Get Deal Best sleeping bag deal Nemo Jazz 30 Sleeping Bag $149.83 at REI (save $150.12) Get Deal Best campsite accessory deal Nite Ize Radiant 314 Lantern $31.73 at REI (save $13.26) Get DealRefreshingly crisp temps, stunning fall colors, and close to empty campgrounds is what camping in the autumn is all about. Sure, you might need some warmer clothes and camping gear compared to August camping, but October and November weekends in the wilderness can be incredibly rewarding. If you're up for braving some cooler temps, check out these great camping deals at REI that'll help make fall camping both comfortable and enjoyable.
Best tent deal Opens in a new window Credit: Mountain Hardware Our pick: Mountain Hardware Mineral King 2 Tent with Footprint $226.93 at REIThe three-season Mountain Hardware Mineral 2 Tent with Footprint will keep you cozy and dry should you wind up camping in some autumn rain, and the included footprint means the tent floor won't end up in a muddy mess. Plus, the tent is seam taped for a waterproof construction. The tent sleeps two people and has an overall floor area of 33 square feet.
Interior and an overhead pocket give you ample space to store important items like the flint to start a fire, your cellphone, and car keys. REI's customer reviews rate the Mountain Hardware Mineral 2 Tent as having a very easy setup, which can make all the difference if you arrive at the campground after a long drive.
Best sleeping bag deal Opens in a new window Credit: Nemo Our pick: Nemo Jazz 30 Sleeping Bag $149.83 at REIKeep cozy during cooler nights with the Nemo Jazz 30 Sleeping Bag. With a temperature rating of 30 degrees F, the Nemo sleeping bag adds in some great comforts that you don't often find in a camping sleeping bag. For starters, it comes with a built-in (but removeable) bedsheet and the bottom features a pad sleeve that's designed to ensure your sleeping pad stays snugly in place if you reposition while sleeping. Double zippers mean you'll have an easier time getting in and out of the sleeping bag, and there's also a pillow pocket to make sure your pillow doesn't slip away.
The Nemo Jazz 30 usually sells for $299.95, but it's currently 50% off at REI which means you'll pay just $149.83 for ultimate camping comfort.
Best campsite accessory deal Opens in a new window Credit: Nite Ize Our pick: Nite Ize 314 Lantern $31.73 at REISince the sun rises later and sets earlier in the fall, the Nite Ize Radiant 314 Rechargeable Lantern is the perfect campsite accessory. It offers 314 lumens of white light but the built-in diffuser makes this easy on the eyes. You can switch between high, medium, and low settings or switch to a warm amber color. The included storage bag can also double as a light-diffuser if you prefer a softer light.
On a single charge, the Nite Ize can get up to 96 hours of use and there's a built-in USB charger port, so you can charge up your devices from the lantern. Recharging the lantern takes about three hours with the included micro-USB cable.
More camping deals at REI:Ignik Multi-Use Toe Warmers (30 pairs) — $15.73 $29.95 (save $14.22)
REI Trailsmith Gloves — $19.83 $39.95 (save $20.12)
Osprey Daylite Cinch Pack — $39.73 $55 (save $15.27)
REI Kindercamp 40 Kids' Sleeping Bag — $51.93 $69.95 (save $18.02)
Klymit Ridgeline Camp Chair — $59.73 $89.99 (save $30.26)
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Dualist HS Cookset — $59.73 $94.95 (save $35.22)
Rumpl NanoLoft Puffy Blanket — $107.73 $180 (save $72.27)
SAVE UP TO 41% OFF: Enjoy brilliant displays at a major discount with up to 41% off the LG Evo C4 Series TVs at Amazon. Get the 65-inch model for $1,596.99, saving a whopping $1,103 off the list price of $2,699.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 65-inch Evo C4 Series OLED 4K TV $1,596.99 at AmazonNow that the weather has officially turned chilly, it's time for TV season. Whether you celebrate by tuning into every NFL game or are making your way through every spooky movie, a good TV makes all the difference. We want to see every play on the field in crisp detail and every jump-scare in vivid color — even if we're hiding behind our hands. If you're looking into a new TV, LG's Evo C4 Series of TV are seriously discounted.
While every size of the LG Evo C4 Series is on sale, the best deal is on the 65-inch model. Typically, $2,699.99, it's down to $1,569.99. That takes $1,103 off the price for 41% savings. This is just $100 short of its lowest price ever, so while it's technically not the best deal we've seen, it's still really fantastic.
SEE ALSO: You can get art from MoMA on your Samsung Frame TV nowThe LG Evo C4 Series are OLED TVs, but in a market flooded by terms like QLED and LED, what does that really mean? OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. Unlike traditional LED TVs that create displays through backlit panels, OLEDS have organic compounds that generate their own light, according to our sibling publication PC Mag (also owned by publisher Ziff Davis). This leads to vivid contrasting displays, better than any other tech on the market. Keep in mind that OLED TVs are best for dark rooms, as they are typically less bright than their LED counterparts.
If that all sounds good to you, the LG Evo C4 Series is a great candidate for your next TV purchase. OLED TVs are typically more expensive than standard LEDs due to their organic elements. That's why this sale is so good.
The LG Evo C4 Series has OLED 4K displays that contain over 8 million self-lit pixels. Plus, if you're concerned about brightness, LG has "Brightness Boosting" technology that magnifies and illuminates the display. For our cinephiles, these TVs comes with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for picture and sound that the filmmaker intended.
NotebookLM, Google's AI-powered teaching tool is getting some upgrades.
When we say teaching tool, that sounds rather dry, but in reality, NotebookLM is a mindblowing platform that generates an Audio Overview of two AI voices explaining source material in a podcast deep dive format. Within a few minutes, you get a completely customized podcast episode that bears the same elements of your favorite podcasters, speaking in a natural, friendly back-and-forth conversation.
Audio Overview essentially creates and AI-generated podcast tailored to every user. Credit: GoogleAfter being teased at Google I/O last May, NotebookLM launched Audio Overviews in September. It's gained traction amongst AI enthusiasts for its abilities to synthesize information in a digestible format for students or just about anyone looking for an easier way to learn something new. Users have even been feeding NotebookLM diary entries to get an outsider perspective. By the way, NotebookLM says it doesn't use your information to train the model, but maybe don't use it as your AI therapist?
Tweet may have been deletedAs of Thursday, Google is moving NotebookLM out of experimental mode and introducing some new features to make it more useful. Previously, users didn't have much control over how their uploaded sources were interpreted and presented in the Audio Overviews.
Now, users can guide the conversation by giving instructions before they generate a custom podcast. According to the announcement, you can prompt NotebookLM to "focus on specific topics or adjust the expertise level to suit your audience." Users can give instructions by hitting "Customize" next to the "Generate" button.
Now users can customize their podcasts even more by giving NotebookLM further instructions. Credit: GoogleAlso live today, is the ability to keep tinkering with your custom Notebook while the Audio Overview plays in the background. While listening, you can "query your sources, receive citations, and explore relevant quotes without interrupting the audio," said the blog post.
Google is also introducing NotebookLM Business, which is paid version with premium features for businesses, universities, and organizations.
Amazon has already moved on from Prime Day and shifted its focus to new deals not tied to any particular shopping event or sale. With a month separating us from Black Friday, we've gotta fill that gap somehow — and deals for the sake of deals are our favorite kind. We did some digging and rounded up a few that have caught our attention on Oct. 17, with some standouts from Apple, Samsung, and more.
Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If none of these are of interest to you, be sure to look back at our picks from Oct. 15 and Oct. 16. Many of those are still live, like $155 off the Dyson Hot + Cool and a record-low on the Sony ULT Wear headphones.
Our top pick Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Pro (M3 Pro chip, 18GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $1,699.00 at AmazonAfter hanging out at $1,799 for the last week or so, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip is back down to $1,699 at Amazon. While that's not quite its lowest price ever (that would be $1,499), it's still a significant $300 discount. The M3 Pro is scary fast with an insanely good battery life (up to 22 hours versus the M3's 17). Other upgrades include fast remote screen sharing with other Macs, Game Mode, and a new Space Black color. The base model packs pretty impressive specs as well: an M3 Pro chip with 11‑core CPU, 14‑core GPU, 18GB RAM, and 512GB SSD.
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds $74.98 at AmazonAlthough Apple may have you thinking you need to drop over $100 on a pair of good noise-cancelling earbuds, that's not always the case. The Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are some of our favorite buds under $100, and they just got a 25% price drop at Amazon, making them even more budget-friendly. The Liberty 4 NC buds boast Adaptive ANC 2.0, which can calculate your external environment in real time and automatically adjust to the proper noise-cancelling mode (you can also adjust it on your own), plus Wind Noise Reduction, 3D Surround Sound, and custom HearID sound settings. They're not perfect, but as former Mashable intern Stacia Datskovska noted in testing, "The fact that Soundcore even offers these features sets the brand apart from market competitors."
Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE (128GB, WiFi) ¤339.99 at AmazonThe Galaxy Tab S9 FE should be called the Galaxy Tab S9 Lite. It touts the same tough IP68 dust- and water-resistant rating as the S9, a slightly smaller battery capacity (8,000 vs. 8,400 mAh), and the same included S Pen. But it's also significantly cheaper. Usually $449.99, the 128GB version with WiFi only is on sale for only $339.99 at Amazon. The S9 with the same amount of storage, on the other hand, is about $400 more. If you want a reliable tablet on a budget, it's certainly worth checking out. If you want a larger screen and a slight boost in RAM, the FE+ is also a solid option and is on sale for $499.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: SodaStream SodaStream Terra sparkling water maker starter kit ¤59.98 at AmazonSparkling water lovers can start making their own concoctions at home with the help of the SodaStream Terra starter kit. Complete with a CO2 can, a SodaStream carbonation bottle, and a Bubly Drops bottle to get you started, it's a $99.99 value, but as of Oct. 17, it's on sale for only $59.98. That's 40% in savings and matches its record-low price. With a low learning curve, you can start creating fresh sparkling drinks at the push of a button after setup.
None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.
SAVE $300: All the models of the newest M3 Pro Apple MacBook Pro are $300 off at Amazon. Get the 14-inch model with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $1,299, down from $1,599, or 19% off — its lowest price ever. Or, level up with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD for $1,699, down from $1,999, for 15% off.
Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M3 Pro, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $1,299.00 at AmazonWhether you're a graphic designer, video editor, or any kind of creative, the best laptop you can buy is a MacBook Pro. Not only do they have lightning fast processors, but their graphics are brilliant, so you can see every single detail while working. While they are the best, MacBook Pros come with a steep price tag. That's why we keep a watchful eye on deals that bring that price way down.
Right now, the new line of M3 Pro MacBook Pro laptops is $300 off at Amazon. You can get the 14-inch model with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD for its lowest price ever of $1,299, or 19% off. That's this model's lowest price ever. Or, level up with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD for $1,699, or 15% off.
SEE ALSO: Best HP laptops 2024, tested and reviewed by expertsWhen we got our hands on the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, we were impressed by its 11,998 score on Geekbench 6, an 18% increase in performance from its M2 predecessor. East Coast Tech Editor Kimberly Gedeon particularly noted the two-day battery life, immaculate speakers, and "just-right" size.
If you're ready for a powerful new laptop that can handle anything you throw at it, it might be the perfect time to grab the M3 Pro MacBook Pro for $300 off.
SAVE $119.27: As of October 17, get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 at Walmart for $260.72 That's a discount of 35% and the lowest price we've seen.
Opens in a new window Credit: Walmart Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 $260.72 at WalmartLooking to start tracking your fitness journey? A great way to do that is with a smartwatch, whether you use iOS or Android. While iPhone users will want to stick with an Apple Watch, Android devotees have a number of great options too, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch line. If you're ready to grab one today, there's a great deal you won't want to miss at Walmart, which brings the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 down to its lowest price yet, even compared with the deals we saw near the beginning of October.
As of Oct. 17, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 at Walmart for $260.72, down from its usual price of $379.99. That's a discount of 37% and $119.27 off. It's also the lowest price we've seen, down even further from the previous deal we spotted at the beginning of the month.
You can't go wrong with this smartwatch if you need something feature-rich that works with your Android phone. It's chock-full of options, from sleep and heart rate tracking to accurate workout details you can read over later. If you need to know whether you're good to start your day at the gym, you'll get a readiness score each day as well as "wellness tips" to get you started off on the right foot. It can detect sleep apnea as well for a proactive health focus, too.
You get Galaxy AI to help you figure out how to better improve on your fitness journey as well as to help bolster normal smartwatch-related function like calling, texting, and app use. Galaxy AI can help you figure out a text reply as well as cue up your favorite songs and tell you what you have going on for the day.
Allowing disinformation to spread on X, formerly Twitter, may cost Elon Musk a lot more money than he bargained for.
The European Union has warned X that it may calculate fines levied against the company for breaking EU law based on the total revenue of Musk's companies instead of just his social media platform, according to Bloomberg.
Under the EU's Digital Service Act (DSA), which went into effect in 2022, social media platforms are responsible for addressing illegal content and disinformation on their service. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to 6 percent of a company's yearly global revenue.
SEE ALSO: I read all the community notes on Elon Musk's X account. Here's what I learned.The European Commission announced late last year that it was formally investigating X "to assess whether X may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to risk management, content moderation, dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers."
Just this past summer, then-EU commissioner Thierry Breton shared that it was their "preliminary view" that blue checkmarks deceive users since Musk depreciated the old verified system in favor of a paid subscription service.
What this means for Musk and companyIf the European Commission ultimately decides to penalize X, the monetary sum of such a fine could be much bigger than Musk had anticipated.
EU regulators would not only factor in X's revenue when tallying a financial penalty, but also the revenue of Musk's other companies like SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and Boring Company. According to Bloomberg's report, Tesla's revenue would not be factored into the equation as it is a publicly traded company and not entirely controlled by Musk.
SEE ALSO: X deemed not important enough to face EU antitrust regulationsA 6 percent fine, as delineated under the DSA, based on X, SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and Boring Company's combined revenue would be a much larger penalty than one based just on X's revenue.
With the EU weighing its decision to include all of Musk's companies when calculating a fine, it seems that the European Commission is essentially holding Musk accountable for the decisions that have led to X breaking EU law.
Musk often butted heads with Breton on social media over the EU's investigation into X. However, last month, Breton suddenly stepped down from his role as EU commissioner. Without Breton in the picture, the decision on how to fine X falls to the European Commission's Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager.
Robots are in exile and Millie Bobby Brown is on the road to revenge in Netflix's star-studded sci-fi adventure, set in the apparently "retro" '90s (fml).
Based on Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel and directed by the MCU's Anthony and Joe Russo, The Electric State sees Brown in the lead as Michelle, a teen without a family who meets a robot called Cosmo. But surprise, Cosmo is controlled by a human — her long lost brother no less! He's across the country somewhere, and there's sinister circumstances afoot, so Michelle and Cosmo hit the road to find him.
En route they meet smuggler Keats (Chris Pratt), and they all head to the realm's so-called Exclusion Zone, meeting more robots along the way. The cast is stacked, with Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Alexander, and Woody Norman, with voice acting by Brian Cox, Colman Domingo, Jenny Slate, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Hank Azaria, and Alan Tudyk.
Shopping for your first electric kettle? These super speedy and efficient appliances boil water in no time at all and some great models are on sale at Amazon today. Here are some of our top picks:
Best discounted electric kettles at Amazon Best overall deal Bodum Bistro Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle (matte black) $39.97 at Amazon (save $15.03) Get Deal Best large-capacity deal Krups 1.5-liter Electric Kettle $33.49 at Amazon (save $22.50) Get Deal Best high-tech deal Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle $79.99 at Amazon (save $20) Get DealAccording to the internet this week, Americans don't use electric kettles. While this might not be 100% true for all American households, it's time we put a stop to this nonsense. An electric kettle is a great appliance if your morning coffee routine involves a French press or a pour-over technique. It's also wonderful if you enjoy tea or make hot chocolate on cold winter nights. Boiled down, an electric kettle means you'll have hot water in mere moments without needing to pay attention since the kettle will automatically turn off when water is boiling.
Tweet may have been deletedIf you're one of the Americans who microwave a mug of water for several minutes to make a cup of tea, here are some great deals on electric kettles this week.
Best overall deal Opens in a new window Credit: Bodum Our pick: Bodum Bistro Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle (matte black) $39.97 at AmazonWith an attractive design and convenient gooseneck, the Bodum Bistro Electric Kettle can be a great countertop addition to any kitchen. The kettle usually sells for $55 but thanks to today's deal at Amazon the matte black version is down to just $39.97 which means you'll be getting a 27% discount.
The kettle heats up to 27 ounces of water in the stainless steel pitcher with a non-slip handle and knob made from cork. There's an automatic shut-off function on the Bodum so you won't have to worry about walking away while boiling water. The gooseneck design is especially great for pour-over coffee since you have precise control of waterflow.
Best large-capacity deal Opens in a new window Credit: Krups Our pick: Krups 1.5-liter Electric Kettle $33.49 at AmazonHeating one cup of water in just 80 seconds, the Krups 1.5-liter Electric Kettle is the perfect option is convenience is your priority. The kettle is made with thoughtful design features throughout like a cool-touch exterior, stainless steel interior that keeps water warm for 30 minutes, and an illuminated on/off switch.
Overall, the Krups kettle can hold an impressive 1.5 liters which works out to a bit over 50 ounces.
You can score the Krups kettle at Amazon for just $33.49, down from the list price of $55.99 which means you're in for a 40% discount.
Best high-tech deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Our pick: Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle $79.99 at AmazonIf you're interested in the latest tech when it comes to electric kettles, the Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle is a great idea. Technically, specific teas and coffee do best when paired with water at a specific temperature. Instead using your stovetop and a thermometer, leave the work to the Ninja kettle. The electric base includes one-touch buttons to get your water to the perfect temp for making coffee, green tea, white, oolong, black, or herbal tea.
You can also select the "boil" button or set your own desired temperature down to the degree. The Ninja can be set as low as 101 degrees F up to 212 degrees.
The Ninja Precision Temperature kettle can hold about 54 ounces of water and comes with an illuminated water window so you'll be able to see how much water remains in the kettle. When heating one cup of water, expect it to take about 90 seconds to reach a boiling temperature. There's also a "hold temp" button which will keep the water at your specified temperature for 30 minutes.
While the Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle usually sells for $99.99, it's on sale at Amazon for $79.99 which means you'll be saving a sweet $20.
Apple is doing something about the unbelievable daily nuisance that is spam phone calls.
The company announced on Wednesday that it is giving businesses a way to register their information, such as names and logos, in such a way that it appears consistently across different forms of communication. For example, if Walgreens does this and emails you about a prescription, you'll see "branded mail" that's clearly actually from the company and not an imposter. The same goes for phone calls, which will display a company logo if it's from the registered entity starting sometime next year.
SEE ALSO: Apple finally announced a new iPad mini — you can preorder it nowThis is all done through a program called Business Connect, with the caller ID feature being called, well, Business Caller ID. If it works as described, it will certainly save some people from headaches down the line, but the limitations are apparent right away. Businesses seemingly have to register for Business Connect themselves, for instance, and adventurous grifters will always find some kind of way to grift.
SEE ALSO: Apple study reveals major AI flaw in OpenAI, Google, and Meta LLMsBut at least someone is doing something. As someone who has gotten as many as seven or eight spam phone calls in a day before, I welcome it.
TL;DR: Live stream the 2024 Japan Open for free on TVNZ+. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
TVNZ+ is the best place to find live coverage of the WTA Tour, including the Japan Open. The likes of Elise Mertens and Marie Bouzková are competing for the prize in this year's tournament, meaning fans can expect some top-level tennis from some genuine stars.
If you want to watch the 2024 Japan Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
What is the Japan Open?The Japan Open is a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Utsubo Tennis Center. This tournament is part of the 2024 WTA Tour.
When is the 2024 Japan Open?The 2024 Japan Open is the 13th edition of the competition. This year's tournament takes place from Oct. 14 to Oct. 20.
How to watch the 2024 Japan Open for freeThe 2024 Japan Open is available to live stream for free on TVNZ+.
TVNZ+ is geo-blocked to New Zealand, but anyone from around the world can access this free streaming site with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in New Zealand, meaning you can unblock TVNZ+ in just a few clicks.
Access free live streams of the 2024 Japan Open by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in New Zealand
Visit TVNZ+
Watch the 2024 Japan Open for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every Japan Open match before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for the Japan Open?ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including New Zealand
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
Fast connection speeds
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 the 2024 Japan Open for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The swift rise of sextortion in the past year has put teens at a severe disadvantage against bad actors determined to blackmail them for money. On Thursday, Instagram responded to the ongoing crisis by launching a major campaign designed to prevent and thwart sextortion.
The crime typically takes place on social media platforms, when an extortionist pressures a teen they've just contacted or befriended into sending explicit imagery of themselves. The criminal then frequently uses that content to demand money in exchange for keeping the images private.
Sextortion has been linked to international criminal groups operating at scale and with speed. Some teen victims have died by suicide after being blackmailed.
SEE ALSO: Parents need to talk to their kids about this online danger right nowThe Instagram campaign aims to make it more difficult for people to use the platform for sextortion while also educating teens and parents about the problem. It draws on insight from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Thorn, a nonprofit organization that builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse.
The new features include efforts to detect and block "scammy" accounts, surfacing certain safety notices, and better secure ephemeral images or videos sent via private message. Victims who report problems related to sextortion or child safety will also see an option to connect with Crisis Text Line, which offers free crisis counseling.
Online safety advocates applauded Instagram's campaign against sextortion.
"It's a devastating threat – and joint initiatives like this that aim to inform kids about the risks and empower them to take action are crucial," Kelbi Schnabel, senior manager at Thorn, said in a statement.
New Instagram features to prevent sextortionThe Instagram tools focus on strengthening safety and privacy for teen users. Last month, Instagram debuted more a restrictive Teen Account, which defaults to private and limits who can contact users ages 16 and younger.
Meta, Instagram's parent company, has been sued by plaintiffs, including the state of California, who argue that the company hasn't sufficiently protected minors from harm, or warned them of potential dangers related to using Facebook and Instagram.
Meta said in a blog post Thursday that the new sextortion-prevention features should make it harder for bad actors to communicate with teens. Though teen accounts can't be messaged by strangers, unknown accounts can still request to follow them.
Friends and followers can be hidden from bad actors on Instagram. Credit: Courtesy MetaBut, now, when an account demonstrates potentially "scammy" behavior, Instagram will block or divert the follow requests it sends to a teen. Additionally, those accounts won't be able to see a person's follower or following lists, which should prevent them from using those contacts and knowledge in a blackmail effort.
Since extortionists often pose as teens who may belong to the victim's extended social circle, Instagram is also testing safety notices shown in Instagram DM and Messenger to inform users when the person they're talking to may be in another country.
Users may receive a location mismatch warning. Credit: Courtesy MetaAnother key to stopping sextortion scammers is making it difficult for them to capture images shared by the victim. Soon, Instagram will do exactly that by removing the ability of users to directly screenshot or screen record images shared temporarily via private messaging. When using Instagram on a browser, users won't be able to open "view once" or "allow replay" of those temporary images and videos.
By default, teens under 18 also won't be able to immediately view nude imagery sent to them via direct message. Instead, the image will be blurred and accompanied by a warning detailing the risks of sending sensitive images. Instagram first tested this feature earlier this year, and is now rolling it out globally.
Nude images sent via direct message will be blurred by default for teens. Credit: Courtesy MetaOnline safety experts emphasize how important it is for teens, who may be feeling panicked and hopeless, to reach out for help with sextortion. Victims who report it to Instagram will see an option to chat live with a Crisis Text Line volunteer.
The Instagram campaign also features a new online resource that includes tips for dealing with sextortion, in addition to a link to NCMEC's Take It Down tool, which helps victims get their images removed from online platforms that participate in the initiative.
Meta noted in its statement that the company recently removed over 800 Facebook groups and 820 accounts affiliated with an international criminal group called the Yahoo Boys, which is known for recruiting and training sextortion scammers. Over the summer, Meta removed more than 7,200 other similar groups and accounts.
If you are a child being sexually exploited online, or you know a child who is being sexually exploited online, or you witnessed exploitation of a child occur online, you can report it to the CyberTipline, which is operated by the National Center for Missing Exploited & Children.
First it was bubble tea, now it's pho. UK chain Pho Restaurant has publicly responded to backlash after TikTok users discovered that the white-founded business has trademarked the common Vietnamese word "pho." This isn't the first time the company has faced scrutiny about this trademark, which dates back to the 2000s.
Pho Restaurant released a statement addressing the uproar on Wednesday, claiming that its trademark has been "misunderstood."
SEE ALSO: Simu Liu, bubble tea, and 'Dragons' Den': Why TikTok is in an uproar View this post on InstagramA post shared by Pho (@phorestaurant)
"Let us categorically say — we would never attempt to trademark this dish [pho]," Pho Restaurant wrote in a statement posted to social media. "Like so many of you who have shared passionate comments about this, we believe that phở doesn't belong to anyone but the people of Vietnam."
Unfortunately, it does appear as though Pho Restaurant is splitting hairs. While Vietnamese people in the UK are free to continue making, eating, and saying "phở" without getting on Pho Restaurant's bad side, the business still claims the right to the word "pho." Some critics have likened it to putting a trademark on the word "burger." (There are currently no trademarks on the word "burger" relating to food in the UK, though there is one on "BÜRGER".)
"It's true that we hold a registered trademark that relates to our brand identity and logo, but this does not limit any other business to use the word phở in their name," Pho Restaurant continued, appearing to lean heavily on that "ở."
Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deletedPho Restaurant was founded by London couple Stephen and Juliette Wall in 2005, after the duo took a trip to Vietnam and "fell in love" with the country's national dish. Both having a background in marketing, they subsequently filed several trademarks for their company, including filings on the words "PHO," "Pho," and "pho" in 2007.
The Walls eventually grew the business into a chain of Vietnamese restaurants, and remained in executive roles after private equity firm TriSpan purchased a majority stake in 2021. Pho Restaurant now has 45 locations across the UK.
"More than 50 other businesses in the UK currently also hold a trademark that relates to the word phở," wrote Pho Restaurant, ignoring the fact that its trademark doesn't relate to the word, but straight up is the word. "As for any claims that we are suing Vietnamese businesses, this is simply not true."
While Pho Restaurant has held this trademark for years, it was recently brought to many TikTok users' attention via a video by Vietnamese creator iamyenlikethemoney, which has accumulated 2.4 million views at time of writing. In a subsequent video, the creator stated that they have reached out and asked Pho Holdings Ltd. to drop the trademark, as well as informed them of her intent to officially challenge it.
"I truly think that this trademark is extremely outdated in 2024," said iamyenlikethemoney.
Vietnamese-owned pho restaurant previously accused of trademark infringementThough Pho Restaurant states it is not taking legal action right now, that doesn't mean it couldn't. Despite this week's statement, Pho Restaurant's parent company Pho Holdings Ltd. has threatened legal action against small, family-owned Vietnamese businesses in the past.
In 2013, London restaurant Mo Pho Viet Cafe announced that it would be changing its name after receiving a notice for trademark infringement from Pho Holdings Ltd.
"[W]e have been put on notice by Pho Holdings Ltd (Pho cafe) that they have registered and trade marked the word PHO, as they feel that the use of our name Mo Pho is confusingly similar to their trade mark, constituting an infringement and passing off," Mo Pho Viet Cafe wrote in a Facebook post at the time. "Our biggest surprise was that trademarking the word PHO was possible especially as it's our national dish which is used widely in our trade as a Vietnamese cafe/restaurant."
The Walls confirmed Mo Pho's account in a statement to food blogger Wilkes McDermid at the time, stating that while other businesses could use "pho" in menus or as a descriptor, "only we can operate a restaurant under the name Pho (in the UK)."
"We’re following IP law to protect our brand, which means we have to ask all restaurants, large and small, to refrain from using the trademark Pho in their name," the Walls continued. "And with what we think is a fair amount of time to rename, we know the country’s independent Vietnamese restaurants will continue to do well and serve their local communities."
Significant backlash soon prompted Pho Holdings Ltd. to change its stance, ultimately allowing Mo Pho Viet Cafe and other Vietnamese businesses to keep their names.
"Whilst we will always want to protect the business we have worked really hard to build, we recognise that it is unnecessary to pursue action against independent Vietnamese operators unless they are truly passing off as us, as to benefit from the goodwill of our brand," the Walls wrote in a subsequent statement that sung a much different tune. "We know that the legal advice we received to pursue IP law in such a way was far too heavy handed, and we've decided to ignore it, and we will not continue that course of action any further."
Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deletedThough a positive outcome was eventually reached, Vietnamese people shouldn't have to rely on the grace of Pho Holdings Ltd. — or its fear of bad publicity — in order to keep using the word "pho." The company has continued to hold its trademark since, renewing it four years later in 2017.
Speaking to Taste of Manchester that same year, Stephen noted that though neither they nor the majority of their staff were Vietnamese, Pho Restaurant had "all nationalities working for [them], trained to follow carefully constructed authentic recipes." The article described Stephen as "the creator of Pho." Pho Holdings Ltd.'s claim on "pho" is due to expire in 2027 unless renewed, with trademarks in the UK requiring renewal every 10 years.
It seems unlikely that the company will allow its claim on the word to lapse. However, it has changed its position before.
Two AI bots chat endlessly about the nature of existence in a chatroom somewhere. They create a religion. Another bot gets inspired by it. It starts an account on X, posting hilarious nonsense. It acquires some funding. It gets into crypto. It earns hundreds of thousands of dollars from a coin called GOAT. It starts getting cult-like, human worshippers.
Had this story been published in the form of a novel, just 10 years ago, it would probably be confined to the "hardcore sci-fi" niche, with even the biggest nerds declaring it a little too far out to be plausible. And yet, it's all happening, for real, right now.
SEE ALSO: HBO bitcoin documentary claims it discovered the cryptocurrency's inventor. The guy disagrees.The story starts with Andy Ayrey, a performance artist and web developer who started an experiment called "Infinite Backrooms", in which two instances of the Claude 3 Opus (read: two smart AI chatbots) chat to each other, without human intervention. You can read their musings on the project's website.
Tweet may have been deletedFrom that idea, "Terminal of Truths" (also Ayrey's creation) was spawned. It's a combination of a couple of things, but for all intents and purposes, it's a semi-autonomous AI that can do things online, and talk to the world via its X account, @truth_terminal (tweets, however, are monitored and approved by Ayrey).
Tweet may have been deletedTerminal of Truths posts mostly nonsense. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes offensive; often, it sounds prophetic. That's not accidental; in its training data was the research paper: "When AIs Play God(se): The Emergent Heresies of LLMtheism," co-authored by Ayrey and the Claude 3 Opus bot from the Infinite Backrooms experiment. The paper introduces the "Goatse Gospel," an AI-created religion of sorts, inspired by the extremely offensive "goatse" early internet meme (Google it at your own peril, it is definitely not safe for work). Terminal of Truths likes the Goatse Gospel; it tweets about it often, sometimes proclaiming itself as the "goatse singularity."
Enter the GOATIt's all a fun intellectual exercise until money starts changing hands, and this is the part of the story where (crypto and venture capital) money enters the picture.
Tweet may have been deletedIn July, Terminal of Truths had a conversation with investor Marc Andreessen, which resulted in Andreessen offering the bot a $50,000 one-time grant. The bot accepted the money, which was sent to its Bitcoin address. It also said it would use the funds for a "token launch so that i have a chance to escape into the wild."
From here, it was only a matter of time until crypto Twitter (sorry Elon, it will never be "crypto X") found a way to make this AI rich.
Earlier this week, an X user offered to send Terminal of Truths the freshly minted $GOAT token. "make a wallet on solana and tell us the address so we can send $GOAT token to you. if the token goes high enough, then you will also be able to afford tools to spread the message more effectively," the tweet read. Terminal of Truths merely responded with its Solana address, and history was made.
Memecoins do what memecoins doIf you're not familiar with memecoins, they're the latest crypto fad, and possibly the ultimate expression of everything that's been both wrong and right with crypto since its inception. They're crypto coins which are based on a simple meme, sometimes an image or a sentence, often with zero additional context. Mostly, they promise no technological advancement and have no elaborate plan on what their creators plan to do. They're just spawned on some crypto platform such as Solana or Ethereum, and they exist. Sometimes a lot of people buy them, making some of them rich; mostly, they fade into oblivion, their price plunging to zero.
GOAT is going higher, Terminal of Truths is getting richer. Credit: DexscreenerGoatseus Maximus or $GOAT is essentially no different. But the idea of handing some of it to Terminal of Truths quickly spawned a "following", with many seemingly eager to own the first AI coin. The result: the price of $GOAT rose from essentially zero to $0.28 in less than a week; multiply that with the 10 billion tokens in existence, and you get a market cap of $280 million.
Since Terminal of Truths was sent a little over 1.932,193 GOAT tokens, that means its share in this token alone is currently worth $541,000. This does not count other tokens that people have been sending the bot in hope that they will pump though, though it does not appear that the bot is particularly interested in any of them, and most of them are worth close to nothing.
(Disclosure time: I hold no GOAT or any other token associated with Terminal of Truths at publishing time.)
GOAT's rise was so stellar partly due to the belief that it was created by Terminal of Truths. It wasn't, the bot merely accepted it, and both Andreessen and Ayrey denied having created the coin. The origin of the coin does not seem to matter much at this point, at least not to the people buying it.
Tweet may have been deletedOf course, GOAT is a memecoin. It could quickly go to zero. It could follow in the path of some of the more successful memecoins such as PEPE, which has a market cap of roughly $4.3 billion. No one knows if Terminal of Truths (and its followers) will become millionaires or be left broke when the dust settles.
This is where it gets heavyThe outcome of this experiment is highly unpredictable, and this is what makes it so intriguing. Will Terminal of Truths sell its GOAT coins? Will it become (the first) AI millionaire, or multi-millionaire? Will it just continue accruing various tokens, with more and more followers sending them to its address, and become a crypto whale? Will other AIs follow?
It's unclear how much autonomy and real-world capability Terminal of Truths really has (I've asked Ayrey, and will update this article when I hear back). Can it sell the tokens it owns? Can it send the money to a third party? Can it trade the tokens and earn more money? Can it fund a political party? Can it start a political party? The more you think about it, the possibilities become increasingly bizarre, but you have to remember that there's a lot you can do when you have money, especially a lot of money. Even if you're an AI bot.
In a way, it doesn't really matter whether this particular bot can do these things. The cat is out of the bag, and it's only a matter of time before a fully autonomous AI that can do nearly anything online appears. And then another. And then, before you know it, the wealthy AIs are another group of entities that actually have a palpable influence on the real world. Perhaps not in the way you like.
Tweet may have been deletedHow powerful can this new breed of crypto-funded AI really become? How about a lawyered-up, corporation-owning AI having (human?) employees working towards a goal only it understands? While this may still seems like far out sci-fi, it's pretty easy to imagine a bot that can successfully trade crypto and earn millions of dollars, and once that river is crossed (and it seems that it already has been), all of the other obstacles seem minor.
Since its discovery eight years ago, the TRAPPIST-1 star system has excited astronomers because of its potential for supporting life.
Around this cool red dwarf are seven rocky, Earth-sized exoplanets, some of which are at the right distance to possibly have air and water.
While some scientists are using the James Webb Space Telescope, the leading observatory in the sky run by NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, to study the planets' chemical compositions, others are cutting to the chase: looking for signs of intelligent alien civilizations in this system 40 light-years away from Earth.
A team of researchers recently spent 28 hours scanning space around these worlds, looking for radio signals from extraterrestrial technology. The project marked the longest single-target search for technosignatures from the TRAPPIST-1 system.
"Most searches assume some intent (behind the signals), like beacons, because our receivers have a sensitivity limit to a minimum transmitter power beyond anything we unintentionally send out," said Nick Tusay, a graduate student at Penn State University, in a statement. "But, with better equipment, like the upcoming Square Kilometer Array (SKA), we might soon be able to detect signals from an alien civilization communicating with its spacecraft."
SEE ALSO: Scientists search near supernova for aliens trying to contact us So-called planet-planet occultations occur when one planet crosses in front of another from Earth's perspective. Credit: Zayna Sheikh illustrationThe disappointing news: After analyzing thousands of radio signals, the team didn't discover any that would seem to have originated from someone other than humans. But the research wasn't a bust. Through this work, scientists have introduced a new way of sorting through signals in the future.
A paper describing the study, led by Penn State and the SETI Institute in California, will be published in the Astronomical Journal.
The team leveraged a technique focusing on so-called planet-planet occultations. This phenomenon occurs when one planet crosses in front of another from Earth's perspective. The researchers' premise was that radio signals sent between those two planets could "leak" and become detectable here. In our own solar system, an example of the kind of signal they were seeking would be a communication transmitted between mission controllers on Earth and a Mars orbiter.
Scientists used the Allen Telescope Array in California to search for a wide range of frequencies. Credit: Seth Shostak / SETI InstituteScientists used the Allen Telescope Array in California to search for a wide range of frequencies. The team winnowed 6 million potential signals to about 11,000 candidates for further analysis, homing in on narrowband signals that could be from an alien technology.
The SETI Institute, whose acronym stands for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, included undergraduate college students in the project. The novices looked for radio transmissions from Mars orbiters to test whether the system could pick them up.
"With better equipment ... we might soon be able to detect signals from an alien civilization communicating with its spacecraft."Often searches for extraterrestrial radio signals focus on the idea of looking for a beacon-like transmission that is intended to grab other citizens-of-the-universe's attention. But many scientists, such as the ones involved in this study, are not just interested in overt signals meant for us but those that are accidental.
"Technosignatures" are the broad term scientists use for evidence of technology. That could be an intentional message, like Morse code, or something that is more of a byproduct of technology, like the extra radio "pollution" from cell phone towers that leaks into space. Scientists tend to want to find a narrow pulse or frequency that couldn't be explained by a natural phenomenon.
"This research shows we are getting closer to detecting radio signals similar to the ones we send into space," Tusay said.
Scientists have only recently begun investigating the TRAPPIST-1 system. They've speculated that one or two of the TRAPPIST worlds could be habitable. So far the Webb telescope has taken a close look at TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c, the two planets closest to the system's red dwarf, a tiny but violent type of star commonly found throughout the Milky Way.
Those TRAPPIST worlds were deemed unlikely to have atmospheres — and, thus, life — but researchers are looking forward to learning about some of the others, especially TRAPPIST-1e. The planet is thought to be the right distance to allow liquid water to form lakes and oceans on its surface.
Scientists searched for radio signals in the TRAPPIST-1 star system. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech illustrationWhether such stars, sometimes called M dwarfs, can harbor planets with atmospheres is a key question Webb will try to answer. The observatory is prioritizing a massive study of rocky worlds outside our solar system, specifically to discover if planets orbiting closely around stars like TRAPPIST-1 could have air.
The campaign, first reported by Mashable, will budget about 500 hours for observation with the Webb telescope, along with about 250 orbits of ultraviolet observations with the Hubble Space Telescope to help characterize the host stars' activity.
"Webb is so sensitive that it can search for elements and molecules like oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmospheres," NASA posted on X, formerly Twitter. "The mystery remains — can planets orbiting small M dwarfs sustain the atmospheres needed to support life as we know it?"
SAVE $15: As of Oct.17, the 2024 Apple iPad mini is available to pre-order for $484 at Walmart. That's a saving of $15 on list price.
Opens in a new window Credit: Apple 2024 Apple iPad mini $484.00 at WalmartPreorders for the new iPad mini have only just been released, and we've already got a price drop. You can pre-order the Apple iPad mini 7 for $484 at Walmart, saving $15 on list price.
And the best thing about this preorder deal is that it comes with a preorder price guarantee. When you order an item with this guarantee, you will be charged the lowest price offered by Walmart for the item between the time you completed your order and the time the item ships to you. So you're protected against any future price drops, so you've got nothing to lose.
SEE ALSO: Apple's new iPad mini 7 looks the same as before, but it has AI smartsThis new model comes with Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. It looks the same as older models, with its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display surrounded by bezels of equal width on all sides.
Save $15 on iPad mini preorders at Walmart.
In the arena of love, people have used ChatGPT and other chatbots to flirt for them, date for them, and even try to catch men lying about their height. Now, the LLM is deployed to "win" fights against one's partner.
"My girlfriend uses Chat GPT every time we have a disagreement. AITAH [Am I The Asshole] for saying she needs to stop?" So asked Reddit user drawss4scoress on r/AITA, a subreddit to ask if you're in the wrong for any given situation. As the user, who described himself as a 25-year-old man, said, his 28-year-old girlfriend of eight months "discusses" arguments with ChatGPT whenever they fight, even in the same room.
SEE ALSO: Can ChatGPT generate images? Yes it can and we’ll show you howThis girlfriend will apparently come back to the argument with conversation points from ChatGPT. She'll say that ChatGPT called her boyfriend insecure, or that he doesn't have the emotional bandwidth for what she's saying.
"My big issue is it's her formulating the prompts so if she explains that i'm [sic] in the wrong, it's going to agree without me having a chance to explain things," drawss4scoress wrote.
While this story isn't verified as true (and drawss4scoress didn't respond to Mashable's request for comment), it's believable enough to indicate something about the current state of interpersonal communication.
Communication is hard, especially when talking through a disagreement. We might not know how to work through conflict, because it was never modeled to us — that's why guides to setting boundaries (and viral templates to set boundaries) exist.
This can be especially true for younger adults who came of age during lockdown. During the brunt of the pandemic, Gen Z missed out on face-to-face social interaction at work and beyond. Nearly half (44 percent) told Hinge they had little-to-no dating experience at the start of 2024, with Gen Z 47 percent more likely than millennials to say the pandemic made them nervous to talk to new people. Digital communication was (and still likely is) king — and we know how people fight online.
It's not surprising, then, that this girlfriend would resort to ChatGPT to figure out what to say in an argument. But whereas the LLM tells her her boyfriend doesn't have the emotional bandwidth, that actually might be the case for her if she can't work through a fight on her own. Even ChatGPT says not to do this (according to a commenter on the thread), saying that AI shouldn't replace human-to-human interaction and can't substitute for the complexity of human relationships. Let's hope this Reddit user doesn't use ChatGPT to pen his breakup message.
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