Tech Boys

The James Bond franchise has a long history of getting pop stars to record its theme songs (perhaps most memorably with Live and Let Die ), and it looks like that tradition will now extend to video game adaptations about the fictional spy. IO Interactive has announced that Lana Del Rey co-wrote and performed the theme for 007 First Light , the developer's playable James Bond origin story. "First Light" is written and performed by Lana Del Rey and composer David Arnold, and like the moody and abstract opening credits released alongside the song, could vaguely gesture at the themes of the game. IO Interactive has previously said that its game focuses on a young, inexperienced and more reckless Bond, before he developed his trademark cool. The developer is also integrating the stealth mechanics it perfected in Hitman into the upcoming game. Del Rey's personal gaming experience may begin and end with her hit "Video Games," which was apparently written a...

The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission have safely returned to Earth , but if your Moon fever has yet to break, or you're curious to get a big picture view of how the second of a planned five Moon missions was pulled off, PBS has a new documentary you'll want to watch. The hour-long Return to the Moon was produced for PBS' NOVA and aired on TV on April 15, but you can view the episode in its entirety on YouTube right now. Return to the Moon covers the history of NASA's Artemis program, and specifically the planning and preparation that went into Artemis II. Per the documentary's official description: Follow the four members of the Artemis II crew as they embark on a perilous 10-day journey to orbit the Moon, venturing beyond Earth orbit for the first time since Apollo and farther into the Solar System than any humans have gone before. And get an inside look at the preparations needed to overcome the extreme engineering challenges of human-crewed spaceflig...

"Don't read books. Play them," says AI-powered role play platform Character.AI in a promo for its latest simulation feature: Books .  If you were as alarmed as I was at that first line (we are in a literacy crisis! ), let me explain. The new feature feeds public domain titles — classics like The Great Gatsby , Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , Pride & Prejudice , and Frankenstein — into the platform's AI so that users can play as characters within the stories themselves. Users can "remix" the tales, adding new characters, changing the plots, or creating entirely new universes. Or you can just live inside the classic story as it is.  SEE ALSO: Character.AI users can now role-play classic books like 'Pride and Prejudice' The platform itself is intended for multi-layered, multimedia role play, from written or audio conversations to AI-generated comic strips and music videos. Users can upload descriptions and even art of their original...

PCMag's camera expert Jim Fisher tests the budget Apple MacBook Neo with 8K video, RAW photos, and exports. The goal is to see how it handles real creative workloads and whether it’s a viable option for creative work. from Mashable https://ift.tt/2wSueDO via IFTTT

SAVE $100: As of April 16, shop the DJI Flip 4K drone for just $539 at Amazon. That saves you $100 off its $639 list price. Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Flip $539 $639 Save $100   Get Deal Getting outside this spring and summer? If you're looking to capture your adventures from above and in 4K then you'll need the right equipment, and you don't need to be a professional either. DJI makes it easy to get started with a drone, and since 4K drones may be an investment, it's worth it to shop the deals. Right now, you can grab the DJI Flip drone for just $539. That saves you $100 off its list price of $639. According to camelcamelcamel , the DJI Flip's record low is $509, meaning it's just $30 from its lowest price ever. Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you ag...

Netflix co-founder and current chairman Reed Hastings is leaving the streaming company’s board in June to focus on "his philanthropy and other pursuits," according to a shareholder letter released alongside Netflix's Q1 earnings. Hastings has served as chairman of Netflix's board since 2023, a role he assumed after stepping down as co-CEO and promoting Greg Peters in his place. "Netflix changed my life in so many ways, and my all‑time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled nearly the entire planet to enjoy our service," Hastings said in a statement. "My real contribution at Netflix wasn’t a single decision; it was a focus on member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come. A special thanks to Greg and Ted, whose commitment to Netflix’s greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things." Hastings fou...

Astronauts from NASA 's first crewed Artemis flight largely sidestepped a question about the diversity of the future astronauts assigned to the upcoming moon-landing mission.  Speaking at a news conference days after their return to Earth , the Artemis II astronauts —  Commander Reid Wiseman , pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — were asked whether the U.S. space agency should uphold its pledge to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon , a goal NASA has recently deemphasized.  The moment highlighted an issue NASA has avoided publicly clarifying . The Artemis program 's first landing mission is expected as early as 2028 . "That's a great question," Koch told Mashable. "Our understanding of that statement was basically that the Artemis campaign as a whole will usher in an era where that is true, and that it will happen naturally because of our astronaut corps." Though Mash...

Apple's MacBook Neo is a $600 (or $500 for students) shot across the bow at affordable Windows laptops, and it seems like Microsoft has ready its first response. The newly announced "Microsoft College Offer" is a bundle of Microsoft 365 Premium, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, custom Xbox controller and discounted laptop that the company thinks could woo students away from Apple's new deal.  With the purchase of a discounted machine directly from Microsoft, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy or PC makers like HP, ASUS and Acer, you can get what the company says is an extra $500 of value from its bundle. The laptop deals include a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x with a Snapdragon X chip, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $500 from Best Buy, around $250 off the laptop's usual $750 price. Or if you wanted something even cheaper, Walmart is selling an HP Omnibook 3 for $429, a discount of $270 off its usual $699 price. Microsoft is less generous with the deals on its own lapto...

Live Nation, which operates the Ticketmaster platform, has been determined to be a monopoly . A federal jury handed down its decision today that the company violated federal and state antitrust rules. This finding won't surprise anyone who has used Ticketmaster and been sticker-shocked by their final bill. However, it's unclear what the jury’s decision will mean in practice.  For starters, the judge overseeing the case hasn't determined what remedies will be applied. The actions could go as far as requiring Live Nation to sell off Ticketmaster. There are also monetary damages to be awarded, which haven't been set yet. And whatever the judge decides, it's also likely that Live Nation will appeal the decision. We've reached out to Ticketmaster for comment.  The Department of Justice and a group of state and district attorneys general sued Live Nation on monopoly claims in 2024. The government agency reached a settlement with Live Nation last month, but the oth...

You know the drill. Every once in a while you have to go through your devices and delete the photos, videos, and games eating up your storage so you can download new stuff and keep your device — and your productivity — flowing.  The process can feel like a time suck, sure. But nothing kills momentum faster than trying to offload photos from your latest trip or client shoot and realizing you’ve got nowhere to put them. Or sitting down to build that awesome slide deck, packed with high-res images and videos, only to hit a "storage almost full" warning halfway through.  If you think the only way to solve your storage conundrum is to upgrade your device, think again. Sandisk’s lineup of portable flash drives, internal solid-state drives (SSDs), microSD™ cards, and more lets you offload and safely store your files so you can keep shooting, editing, and creating your heart out.  Check out this roundup of top Sandisk picks to help free yourself from storage anxiety. Plug-a...