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Gaming Gear

The World of ‘Dark Crystal’ May Not Be as Finished as We Thought

by admin October 3, 2025

Jim Henson’s incredible fantasy film, The Dark Crystal, is returning to theaters next week, but that may not be the last time audiences see it on the big screen. Speaking to io9 about the Fathom re-release, filmmaker Brian Henson teased that even though Netflix’s prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is unlikely to come back, that isn’t necessarily the end of the franchise.

“I can’t really comment on development, but what I will say is we will continue to create within this universe,” Henson said. “We’ve looked at several potential tracks and a movie might be one of them… You still have a lot of moving parts in the world of Dark Crystal that can create drama and conflict that can generate another story in that world.”

So what exactly does that mean? Could we be getting a new Dark Crystal movie? As Henson said, he wouldn’t comment on development. But that there’s more story to be told in the world of The Dark Crystal is simultaneously obvious and unexpected.

It was back in 2019 when Netflix released its incredible prequel series, Age of Resistance. That series took everything fans knew and loved about the 1982 original and made it bigger, better, and more engrossing. It was clear the world of Thra was ripe for further explanation, especially when the story begged for a second season. Unfortunately, that second season is unlikely to happen, and Henson admitted he wasn’t surprised.

“Netflix [was] really great,” he said. “They allowed the money to be spent that was needed to really do it right, and [Age of Resistance] is a beautiful, beautiful piece. But… they’re a streamer. Their whole point is to get a whole bunch of subscribers that we wouldn’t otherwise get. So they knew by making Age of Resistance that we’re going to get all of the hardcore fantasy fans who weren’t subscribed to subscribe. Season two? It’s the same group. So I was disappointed but not at all surprised that they didn’t want to drop that much money again for another season.”

So who might drop money for more Dark Crystal, if not Netflix? Again, there’s no comment. But clearly, if you look at the rumors surrounding another big Henson fantasy film, Labyrinth, you see that there is certainly interest out there. Fingers crossed we get back to Thra sooner rather than later.

And, as we mentioned, you can go back next week. Fathom Events is rereleasing the film in 4K on October 12 and 13 with a special new introduction by Henson. Get tickets and showtimes here. Then, check back next week for more Dark Crystal.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Best Smart TV of 2025

by admin October 3, 2025

With all of the TVs available today and the technical terms and jargon, it can be tough to figure out what’s important. Here’s a quick guide to help cut through the confusion.

Price: TVs range in price from $100 to more than $2,000. Smaller screens are cheaper, well-known brands are more expensive and spending more money can also get you better image quality. Most entry-level TVs have a good enough picture for most people, but TVs last a long time, so it might be worth spending more to get a better picture. It’s also best to shop for a TV in the fall when prices are lower.

Screen size: Bigger is better in our book. We recommend a size of at least 43 inches for a bedroom TV and at least 55 inches for a living room or main TV, though 65 inches or larger is best. More than any other “feature,” stepping up in TV screen size is the best use of your money. One of the most common post-TV-purchase complaints we’ve heard is from people who didn’t go big enough. We almost never hear people complain that their TV is too large.

Capability: Among entry-level TVs, the most important feature is what kind of smart TV system the TV uses. Among midrange models, look for features including full-array local dimming, mini-LED and 120Hz refresh rate, which (unlike some other extras) do actually help improve the picture. Among high-end TVs, OLED technology is your best bet.

For more TV buying advice, check out our guide on how to buy a TV.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

China Is Leading the World in the Clean Energy Transition. Here’s What That Looks Like

by admin October 3, 2025

Speaking by video at the UN Climate Summit in New York last week, China’s president Xi Jinping laid out his country’s climate ambitions. While the stated goals may not have been aggressive as some environmentalists would like, Xi at least reaffirmed China’s green commitment.

“Despite some countries going against the trend, the international community should stay on the right track, maintain unwavering confidence, unwavering action, and undiminished efforts,” he said. Any reference to Donald Trump and the United States was surely intended (though not explicit).

The march of the energy transition is a long one, but it has to start somewhere. And with this approach, China has already taken quite a few steps.

Beijing Stands (Mostly) Alone

Today, there is no race to be a climate leader. The world is a far fry from the COP26 conference in November 2021, when tackling the threat of climate change seemed like a global priority. A few months later, Russia invaded Ukraine; the ensuing energy crisis and inflation kicked climate off of many political agendas.

While Joe Biden and the United States responded to soaring prices with the Inflation Reduction Act, which prioritized investment in renewable energy, Donald Trump subsequently withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement—an international accord to limit global warming—for the second time. The European Union has also stuttered: Too internally divided, it did not go beyond a drab declaration of intent at the UN Climate Summit. There hasn’t been much movement from India, a country of nearly 1.5 billion people. And other nations’ emissions are simply too small to matter.

Given this background, it becomes easy to understand how, in this scenario, China has become a global leader in the clean energy transition. Xi’s speech did not go into much detail, but it did mention all the main points of China’s strategy.

Cut Emissions Between 7 Percent and 10 Percent by 2035

In New York, Xi acknowledged the importance of the transition, and for the first time, agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions rather than simply promise to slow them down. China’s stated goal is between 7 percent and 10 percent reduction by 2035.

How do you evaluate these pledges? While the commitment is vague, it’s still significant; previously the regime had merely promised to reach peak emissions by 2030, tying the cuts to economic growth. In Xi’s speech you can seen China transition from a developing country approach to a role more akin to that of industrialized countries, whose emissions have been declining for decades.

Slow Going?

It should be pointed out that reducing emissions at the pace promised by Beijing means a decline of about 1 percent a year. According to an analysis by William Lamb of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, this is a slower pace than that held by most industrialized nations. Italy, for example, has reduced them by an average of 3.2 percent every 12 months since their peak in 2006; the United Kingdom by an average of 2.8 percent since 2004; France by 2.3 percent.

“China has often promised little and achieved much,” notes Andreas Sieber, associate director for policy and campaigns for the global climate nonprofit 350.org, suggesting that China might overdeliver. The country’s lack of democracy also means its policies are not at risk of reversal every election cycle.

On Renewables

Xi Jinping’s speech included a commitment to reach 3,600 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind and solar capacity by 2035, six times the country’s 2020 figures. This is already the leading country in terms of installed renewable power, and a giant on the technology front as well, with universities churning out environmental and climate tech research at full speed, and attracting scientists from abroad across numerous fields. He also announced a commitment to an energy mix with more than 30 percent renewables.

On Electric Vehicles

Mobility has long been an issue for China, which has moved from bicycles, ubiquitous until the 1990s, to the mass automobile. The images of the 2008 Beijing Olympics are unforgettable: A blanket of smog buried the city. The government has in recent years given a strong boost to electric mobility: At the Climate Summit it announced plans to make EVs “mainstream,” that is, prevalent in sales. It helps that it has ready access to rare earth minerals that are essential for building batteries. And for that matter, the country hosts giant automotive companies like BYD and Catl, which supplies batteries to some 50 global brands including Tesla and Volkswagen.

On the carbon market

Xi has declared his intention to expand the national carbon emission trading market to more emission-intensive sectors than today.

On forests

China made additional commitments on forests, which it says will reach an extent of 34 billion cubic meters.

China has reshaped the market for green technologies.

To skeptics expecting broader measures and the mantle of true global leadership from China, well, that’s not a particularly coveted title these days—especially if the US continues to reverse course on climate science. As senior advisor Bernice Lee of the think tank Chatham House notes, China invested $625 billion in the clean energy transition last year alone; that’s nearly a third of the gobal total.

Not only that: Research and massive adoption of renewable technologies have led to the dramatic drop in prices, and China’s very large domestic market is a formidable driver in this regard. “The rise of Chinese renewables is reshaping the global economy and replacing coal in the domestic market,” Lee says.

The hope is that other countries, reassured by that commitment, will follow China’s example rather than America’s.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The best early October Prime Day deals on Apple devices

by admin October 3, 2025

Amazon’s latest October Prime Day sale starts next week, and we expect to see a few good discounts on Apple devices arrive with it. If you’ve been waiting to pick up a new Apple Watch, iPad or MacBook, though, there are a handful of decent price drops you can take advantage of today. We’ve quickly rounded up the best early Prime Day deals on Apple devices we can find below. Just keep in mind that Black Friday is around the corner, so there’s always a chance we see further discounts over the next few weeks. The “Prime Big Deal Days” sale, as it’s technically called, officially runs October 7 and 8; we’ll update this post as new offers arise.

Best Prime Day Apple deals

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 512GB) for $999 ($200 off): The MacBook Air tops our guide to the best laptops. The latest model isn’t a major overhaul, but it’s still exceptionally thin, lightweight and well-designed, and the M4 chip is more than powerful enough for everyday use. This deal is just a few bucks below the best price we’ve seen for a configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Other configs with more memory are $200 off as well.

Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 512GB) for $1,199 ($200 off): The 15-inch MacBook Air is essentially the same as the 13-inch version, only it has a roomier display, a more spacious trackpad and better speakers. This is another discount we’ve seen plenty of times before, but it’s only slightly higher than the all-time low for a model with 512GB of storage.

Apple iPad (A16, 256GB) for $399 ($50 off): The entry-level iPad earned a score of 84 in our review: If you mainly want a tablet for streaming, browsing the web, emailing or lighter word processing, it should do the job. It doesn’t lose out on the Mac-style productivity features introduced with iPadOS 26 either. We’ve seen this discount on the 256GB model fairly often in recent months, and it’s about $25 above the device’s all-time low, but it’s still $50 cheaper than buying directly from Apple.

Apple

The Pencil Pro is Apple’s premium stylus, offering pressure sensitivity, wireless charging, haptic feedback and unique gesture controls compared to the standard Pencil. It’s a dependably tool for sketching and note-taking; just note that it’s not compatible with the base iPad and most older models. This is another discount we’ve seen regularly over the past year, but it’s $30 off the pen’s list price.

$99 at Amazon

Apple AirTags (4-pack) for $75 ($24 off): With its enormous finding network and ultra-wideband tech for accurately locating nearby items, Apple’s AirTag is the top pick for iPhone users in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers. We saw a four-pack fall as low as $65 earlier in the year, but this is still a nice drop from Apple’s list price. If you’re not in desperate need for these, though, note that we may see an updated model later this year.

Apple Mac mini (M4) for $499 ($100 off): This latest iteration of Apple’s tiny PC has a smaller footprint, a faster M4 chip, 16GB of RAM by default, two front-facing USB-C ports and an extra Thunderbolt 4 port. It can also drive three external displays, though it lacks USB-A ports entirely. We gave a higher-end config with Apple’s M4 Pro chip a score of 90 in our review. This deal is for the entry-level model with the base M4 chip and a 256GB SSD — it’s $30 above the all-time low but still a nice savings.

Apple Watch SE 3 (40mm, GPS) for $240 ($9 off): Apple only released its latest crop of Apple Watches a couple weeks ago, but Amazon is selling each with a modest discount. The Watch SE 3, for instance, is available for $240: That’s just $9 off its list price, but it’s something if you’re buying soon after launch anyway. As for the device itself, this third-gen version of the SE adds an always-on display, which makes it so you no longer have to wake the watch to check the time or your notifications. It now runs on the same S10 chip as its higher-end siblings, too, and it still covers the essential health and fitness features. If you’re in the market for your first smartwatch, or if you only want a watch for step counting, sleep tracking and notifications, it should be a strong value.

Apple

The Series 11 is the top overall pick in our guide to the best smartwatches. It’s not as compelling as the SE 3 from a value perspective, but it has a bigger, brighter and more scratch-resistant display, slightly longer battery life and support for more advanced health features like hypertension alerts and an ECG app. We gave it a score of 90 in our review. Just note that there’s no pressing need to upgrade if you’re happy with your current Apple Watch. This is a slight $9 discount, but we note it since the Series 11 has been on sale for less than a month, so any bit of savings are welcome.

$390 at Amazon

Apple Watch Ultra 3 (49mm) for $780 ($19 off): The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a much more niche device than the Series 11 or SE 3, aimed at serious athletes and adventurers more than the typical gymgoer. It is the biggest and most rugged Apple Watch, with the brightest display (up to 3,000 nits), longest battery life (up to 42 hours) and most advanced components. It also supports satellite communications. The watch normally retails for $799, so this isn’t a major discount, but since this is a brand-new device, any drop at all is worth noting for early adopters.

Apple Watch Series 10 (42mm, GPS + Cellular) for $329 ($170 off): As a general rule, most people should buy the newest version of whatever Apple product they want. That said, the Series 11 is only a minor upgrade over the prior Series 10 — the glass is more scratch-resistant, the cellular model has 5G support, the battery is marginally bigger and that’s about it. If you’re mostly worried about saving cash, want LTE support and still need the more advanced health features the Apple Watch SE lacks, this is a worthwhile discount for a version of last year’s model with cellular support.

Apple Watch SE (2nd gen, 40mm, GPS + Cellular) for $189 ($110 off): The Apple Watch SE 3 is a far more substantial upgrade over its predecessor than the Series 11, so we strongly recommend paying the premium to get the latest version. But if you’re sure you can live without the always-on display, faster charging, superior chip and other upgrades that come with the SE 3, the last-gen model can still get you most of the basic Apple Watch experience for less cash while it remains in stock. This is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen for the 40mm cellular model.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Apple pulls ICEBlock from the App Store

by admin October 3, 2025

Antifa, as described in the national security presidential memorandum (NSPM), is both everything and nothing. It is in forums and social media and in-person meetings. It is in educational organizations and nonprofit institutions. It is protests (“riots”) not just in Portland, but in Los Angeles as well, whether against Trump’s immigration policies or, separately, “anti-police and ‘criminal justice’ riots.” It is the doxxing of masked and armed ICE agents. It is the “rhetoric” on the bullets alleged to be engraved by Charlie Kirk’s killer — referring, it seems, to an unused bullet casing with a video game button combo on it.

So antifa could be a kid in a black mask tossing a brick at a CCTV camera at an ICE facility. Antifa could be the grandma on the sidewalk holding a sign reading “DONALD TRUMP IS A FASCIST.” Antifa is ACAB. Antifa is Fuck ICE. Antifa is No Kings. Antifa might be a reading group, a teach-in, an Instagram solicitation for mutual aid. Antifa could be the ICEBlock app, and the App Store could be providing material support for terrorism.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Boya Magic review: an impressive shapeshifting mic

by admin October 3, 2025

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We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Boya Magic: one-minute review

One of the downsides to shooting video and content creation is the sheer amount of kit you have to carry; even the most pared-back setups require a plethora of accessories. Beyond that, how many different microphones might you need to cover a range of situations? It’s an issue that’s effectively addressed by the Boya Magic, a 4-in-1 wireless mic that’s designed to be a jack of all trades.

Lavalier (lapel), on-camera, handheld and desktop are all forms the Boya Magic mic can take. The mic is available in several kits, but if you opt for the most comprehensive and still competitively priced of the three you can connect the mics to smartphones, computers and cameras using USB-C, Lightning, and 3.5mm TRS, making it a significant upgrade over the Boya Mini and potentially one of the best wireless mics.

Since this is a multi-purpose mic, we could discuss its performance and characteristics at length, but we’ll delve into those later. Focusing on the lavalier mics, which are the transmitters in all configurations, and the backbone of the mic, these two tiny 7g units can be attached to clothing with clips or magnets, and produce impressive 24-bit sound quality. They’re incredibly easy-to-use with excellent noise cancellation to boot.

I have to admit that when I first received the Boya Magic, I was sceptical about its performance, but I’ve been impressed while testing the mic in all four configurations, attached to my smartphone, computer and my camera.

The Boya Magic lavalier mics are tiny (Image credit: James Abbott)

Boya Magic at Amazon for $85.49

Today’s best Boya Magic deals

Boya Magic: price and release date

Available now
Three kits to choose from
Prices start at $93 / £89 / AU$159

The Boya Magic is available from the Boya website and Amazon. The USB-C kit costs $93 / £89 / AU$159, the USB-C & Lightning kit costs $140 / £119 / AU$209 and the USB-C, Lightning & 3.5mm TRS kit costs $151 / £129 / AU$229. All in all, it’s extremely good value for money, given the versatility of the mic.

One slightly frustrating aspect of the Boya Magic is that you have to purchase the Boya Mini Tripod separately, and this is required for tabletop and on-camera use of the mic. It’s not the end of the world, and it only costs $30 / £20 / AU$46 (currently reduced to $20 in the US), but it would be better if it were included in at least the kit option with the 3.5mm TRS.

The Boya Magic comes in a handy case (Image credit: James Abbott)

Boya Magic: specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Dimensions

Magic TX 35 x 15.2 x 13mm, 3.5mm TRS RX 42.2 x 30 x 19.4mm, USB-C / Lightning RX 19.55 x 24 x 21mm, Charging Case 141.3 x 26.5 x 21mm

Weight

Magic TX 7g, 3.5mm TRS RX 16g, USB-C / Lightning RX 5g, Charging Case 62.5g

Transmission range

Up to 100m

Connectivity

USB-C, Lightning or 3.5mm TRS

Battery

Six hours / 30 hours total with the charging case

Audio

24-bit

Noise cancelling

Yes, one-click

Handheld mic with the foam cover attached (Image credit: James Abbott)

Boya Magic: Design

Innovative design
Highly versatile
Compact and lightweight

This 4-in-1 mic system is built around a compact charging case that triples up as the on-camera, handheld and desktop mic, with a foam and dead-cat wind cover in the kits. This measures just 141.3 x 26.5 x 21mm and weighs 62.5g. The lavalier mics are stored and charged inside, behind a clear plastic door. When used in these modes, it’s the lavalier mic at the top of the case, in the first slot, that records sound through holes in the glass door and at the top of the charging case.

The lavalier mics are the backbone of the system, and in my opinion, the most impressive; and for content creators who are using lavalier mics as handheld mics, this system provides a much more comfortable and professional-looking solution.

The two lavalier mics are incredibly compact and lightweight at just 35 x 15.2 x 13mm and 7g. There’s a clip on the rear for attaching the mics to clothing, as well as a magnet plate on each clip to increase the options for attaching the mics to your clothes in more imaginative ways, although I fear that these may be easy to lose over time. The kits come with a couple of clip-on dead-cat wind covers for the mics.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: James Abbott)(Image credit: James Abbott)(Image credit: James Abbott)

The build quality of all of the components is great, and the small carry-bag accommodates everything safely and neatly. The overall design of the kit is innovative, while operation is incredibly simple, with just a single button on each mic and the charging case. This can be used to switch the mics on and off, and to switch the AI noise cancellation on and off.

The USB-C and Lightning receivers are small and lightweight, slot neatly into your phone’s port, and are powered by the phone. The 3.5mm TRS attaches to the camera hotshoe and offers six hours of battery life. It’s designed simply, with just a power button, a volume/gain button and a 3.5mm jack. There’s no Bluetooth connectivity as in some mics, beyond a Bluetooth connection to the receivers, so these receivers are essential.

Boya Magic: Performance

Incredibly easy to use
Excellent AI noise cancellation
24-bit audio

Setting up the mic, from unpacking the kit to first use is incredibly easy. This is one of the more intuitive wireless mics I’ve used, and you can use the BOYA Central app to adjust settings including AI noise cancellation, the EQ, AI noise cancellation, and the limiter, and to apply camera gain presets and firmware updates.

The mics are omnidirectional, so they will pick up sound from all directions. This causes no issues when recording in quiet environments, but when there’s background noise you often need to use the AI noise cancellation, which is available with two strength settings depending on the level of background noise.

AI noise cancellation is powered by deep neural networks (DNNs) trained on over 700,000 real-world noise samples and 20,000 hours of deep learning. Boya claims it can separate voices from noise in milliseconds, with up to -40 dB suppression. In use, the AI noise cancellation is undoubtedly impressive, and it doesn’t distort voices or make them sound robotic.

Sound quality is fantastic, with audio recorded in 48 kHz/24-bit with an 80dB signal-to-noise ratio, a 144 dB dynamic range, and a frequency response from 20Hz to 20kH. You can set sound levels manually, but there’s also a handy built-in smart limiter to protect your audio from peaking. In addition, a second safety track is recorded at a lower (-12 dB) volume to ensure nothing is lost.

The transmission range is up to 100m without obstacles, and 10m with obstacles. During testing the connection was solid, and I never experienced any issues with any of the four mic configurations. Battery life is up to six hours per mic, with 30 hours in total available with the charging case. This is average, and is plenty of battery power for most situations.

Should I buy the Boya Magic?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Boya Magic: also consider

(Image credit: James Abbott)

How I tested the Boya Magic

I tested it in all four configurations
I used it attached to multiple devices
I tested all its features

I tested the Boya Magic over several weeks in all four configurations: lavalier, on-camera, handheld, and desktop mic. I also attached the mic to my smartphone, computer and camera so that I could assess performance across the board in real-world situations.

I was sent the complete kit, which includes the USB-C, Lightning and 3.5mm TRS receivers. I recorded audio in different environments to see how well the mics perform with and without AI noise cancellation. I also used the Boya Central app to access settings and assess the overall ease of use.

Boya Magic: Price Comparison

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Citizen Scientists Spot a Perfect Extragalactic Venn Diagram

by admin October 3, 2025

For lovers of cool astronomy and math, this finding is a real treat. Citizen astronomers stumbled upon not one but two rings of extragalactic radio signals crossing each other to form a near-perfect Venn diagram.

A paper published October 2 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society identifies this strangely geometric object as an “odd radio circle” (ORC), vast rings of magnetized plasma. These rings, only visible at radio wavelengths, emit non-thermal synchrotron radiation. They’re also gigantic, typically spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years. Astronomers have only documented a small handful of cases, but this particular pair of rings is reportedly the most distant and most powerful so far.

What’s more, the researchers found two more powerful radio signals that offer valuable information about the dynamics of ORCs, first discovered six years ago.

“ORCs are among the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we’ve ever seen—and they may hold vital clues about how galaxies and black holes co-evolve, hand-in-hand,” said Ananda Hota, study lead author and founder of the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory for citizen science research, in a statement.

An ongoing puzzle

As the name suggests, odd radio circles are only visible to radio telescopes, which operate at comparatively low frequencies. At other frequencies, or wavelengths, they become invisible—one reason they only recently came into view, owing to advances in radio astronomy.

Given their novelty, astronomers have yet to pinpoint an exact cause for odd radio circles. The handful of detections so far have suggested they could be shockwaves from merging galaxies or black holes, or even the remnants of supernovas. Either way, ORCs almost always materialize near large galaxies, hinting there should be some correlation between the two.

The new discovery raises another possibility. What if these rings are the product of “superwinds” compressing dormant radio lobes? Galactic superwinds can emerge from a variety of powerful extragalactic events, which could explain why past ORC observations had conflicting sources.

Many moving parts

The other two radio signals that the researchers found nearby also support this hypothesis. Specifically, these were two gigantic galaxies in a crowded galaxy cluster that were blasting out powerful jets of plasma and radio emissions. Their activity, coupled with the local environment, likely helped shape the rings, the researchers said.

Optical RGB image from the Legacy Surveys, overlaid with radio emission in red from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS), showing the ‘odd radio circle’ (ORC) RAD J131346.9+500320. Credit: Rad@home Astronomy Collaboratory

“These discoveries show that ORCs and radio rings are not isolated curiosities,” noted Pratik Dabhade, study co-author and an astronomer at the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Poland, in the statement. “They are part of a broader family of exotic plasma structures shaped by black hole jets, winds, and their environments.”

The signals were first detected by citizen scientists using the Low Frequency Array, a sensitive radio telescope based in Europe. Professional scientists associated with the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory helped assess and confirm the validity of their findings.

“The fact that citizen scientists uncovered them highlights the continued importance of human pattern recognition, even in the age of machine learning,” Dabhade added.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Fox One Review: Fox’s Streaming Service Is Heavy on Sports and News, and Made for Fox Fans

by admin October 3, 2025

Pros

Expansive access to sports games of all types
Immersive experience for sports fans, with sports, stats and analysis
Many ways to personalize feed
Unlimited DVR

Cons

Difficult accessibility features
User experience inconsistent across devices
Limited access to primetime shows
No original content

Fox One, Fox Corporation’s first-ever direct-to-consumer streaming service, launched on Aug. 21 — the same day ESPN launched its own. Fox’s entire channel portfolio, which includes Fox News Channel, Fox Nation, Fox Sports, B1G, FS1, FS2, local Fox stations and the Fox Network, can be found here for $20 a month.

What makes Fox One appealing, or at least of interest, is its focus on live sports and news programming. This is an attractive feature for customers, and, if you look around, you’ll notice a growing number of streamers vying for a piece of the live TV pie. Outside of live TV, news and sports, Fox One’s library includes an array of on-demand programming and a selection of Fox’s primetime hit shows like The Simpsons and Hell’s Kitchen.

Though the platform combines the functionality of an on-demand streamer with a cable-like experience, there are some limitations. Is this enough to make Fox One a viable option in a streaming landscape crowded with premium platforms, competitively priced bundles and FAST services and channels?

Fox One feels like a good fit if you’re a fan of Fox and want anytime access to its live programming library. To that point, though, there are other streaming services offering much more content (and value) that make it difficult to justify the streamer’s $20 price tag.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

What is Fox One and how much does it cost?

After the demise of Venu, the joint sports streaming venture from ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, the media companies involved pivoted to their own alternative streaming projects. This past May, Fox announced the name of its app, Fox One, and launched the platform in August, with an emphasis on live programming. Targeted toward cord-cutters and Fox’s news and sports audience, the streaming app features niche content.

Fox One has two main subscription tiers, depending on the type of programming you’re interested in watching. It’s available to pay TV customers (eg. cable and satellite) at no extra cost, and next month, the streaming service will be part of a bundle with Disney’s ESPN. The company plans to partner up and offer additional bundling options in the future.

The basic Fox One plan costs $20 a month, or $200 annually, and provides a mix of live sports, news and entertainment content from across the Fox portfolio. The Fox One-Fox Nation tier costs $5 more at $25 a month and features everything the basic Fox One plan has, along with full access to Fox News and Fox Nation. Both plans offer a seven-day free trial and an unlimited DVR, and if you get Fox through a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can access Fox One for free.

When you visit the site, you can choose to sign up for one of Fox’s standalone streaming subscriptions to Fox Nation or B1G Plus. Each of these platforms has been around for a few years now, with Fox Nation priced at $9 a month or $71 annually (also, with a seven-day free trial), and B1G Plus costing $13 a month or $90 annually. Bear in mind these services are separate from Fox One, but customers can conveniently sign up in one place.

What’s it like like to use?

The Fox One homepage on my smart TV shows the menu options on the left side of the screen.

Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET

For over a week, I tested the Fox One app on multiple devices. The design and user experience are pretty standard, and navigating through the app is simple enough. The home menus will appear in different positions, depending on the device you are using. On the web, you’ll find the main buttons at the top of the screen for Home, Live, Sports, News, Shows and My Stuff. There are also network hub buttons on the home page to help you easily navigate to content for Fox, FS1, FS2, Fox News, Fox Weather, Fox Deportes, Fox Business and B1G Network.

The menu headers appear on the left side of the screen when the app is used on a Roku Stick and my Samsung Smart TV. When using the app on my Samsung Galaxy S25, I found the menu at the bottom of the screen, which also included a selection for Shorts — a section featuring short-form vertical TikTok-style video clips highlighting moments from news programming and sports.

The live programming options were the first tiles I saw when scrolling through the home page, followed by a row dedicated to upcoming news and sports-themed shows. There are also rows for networks, teams, and personalities — listed as Fox Voices — which you can click to follow to further customize your viewing experience.

The viewer experience becomes more personal to you the more you interact with the platform.

During playback, watching live and on-demand programming worked as expected, offering crisp video quality and solid streaming. Clicking on the rewind or fast-forward button on my TV moves the progress of the video in short increments. The same functionality exists on the web, but you can also simply use the mouse to drag the progress bar anywhere in the video, which I found more intuitive.

Recording a program to the DVR is best when using the mobile app, the smart TV app or something like a Roku or Amazon Fire TV. Any show I clicked on had an Add to My Stuff button, which does exactly that. I attempted to do the same thing when logged into the website but was only able to record future programming through the live guide.

The service allows users to watch a sporting event or news show live in the moment, with the option to start from the beginning. If you’re looking to catch up on the latest game and don’t have the time to sit through multiple hours, the service offers rows where you can view condensed games, shorter recaps, clips and analysis.

Fox One’s multiview feature, as seen on my Roku device.

Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET

The multiview function has its own dedicated row for watching multiple live programs at once. Fox News and Fox Business are grouped together, as are Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Weather, FS1 and BTN and FS1 and Fox News. This function works as expected and plays the feeds side-by-side in real time with the audio from whatever program you highlight.

This is one of the features I was really looking forward to using. However I discovered that it can only be found using TV OS, Amazon Fire TV or Roku, the last of which I do have. Fox told CNET that more devices will support the feature in the future.

Selecting the guide pulls up a live programming schedule that features limited channels. You cannot remove them entirely or customize the order in which they appear. That said, you can browse upcoming scheduled shows by date up to 14 days ahead of time.

When you click on a show that hasn’t aired yet, you can add it to My Stuff and the app will automatically record it for you. If you choose a game from the guide, you’ll be able to add it to My Stuff, but the service will also give you a list of options that’ll allow you to follow the league and the teams going head-to-head, which will prompt Fox One to record all programming associated with both.

As I stated previously, I used the app for about a week, so I didn’t spend extensive time testing the DVR. It worked as expected, and if you’re concerned about missing any shows, you can record up to 14 days in advance.

Fox One’s vertical live guide on mobile.

Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET

Design-wise, I noticed on my TV that the thumbnail art and episode descriptions within a show’s season overlapped, making it impossible to read. This didn’t happen with every title I clicked on, so I am assuming this is an issue that is being ironed out. That said, suggestions for similar programming came up cluttered with a hodgepodge of shows that had no similarities to the show I was watching at all.

Advertisements; you can’t get away from them. They’re here, but the ad load, as I experienced it, was lighter than what I’ve become used to when watching Hulu or even WWE Raw on Netflix. Since we’re still in the early days of the app, I have a feeling this will change.

One more note about the ads: While I did experience ad breaks during the live news shows and live sports I clicked play on, there were no commercials interrupting the recap videos and clips.

Fox One’s accessibility settings are slim, and when I tinkered with closed captioning, I found the feature difficult to access and the experience was inconsistent across devices. On my TV, I was met with a QR code that directed me to a website that gave a support email address to contact. The same thing happened when using my Android mobile device. Fox advised that iPhone users are able to change these settings.

Since I don’t have an iPhone, though, the only way I could edit the style, appearance and placement of the captions was through the Fox One website. Instead of under my Account, I found the small CC icon at the bottom right corner of the video player itself.

The closed captioning settings menu, as it appears on Fox One’s web-based app.

Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET

A tiny gear appears next to the CC icon, only when it’s turned on. Clicking that reveals a pop-up menu where changes can be made to font size, font style, font family, font color, font opacity, character edge, character edge color, background color, background opacity, window color and window opacity.

After changing things like size, color and style, the captions still varied in appearance, depending on the programming I was viewing and what device I was using.

What content is and isn’t on Fox One?

Don’t expect a deep library of Fox shows. Fox One’s library isn’t light, but it does feel light on Fox’s primetime TV hits. You’ll find shows like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, The Masked Singer and Hell’s Kitchen here, but the episode and season count will be limited.

As I sifted through the shows, I began to notice that the newest seasons of shows — which have already completed their initial episode runs — were the only ones available to watch. If you’re looking to catch up on previous seasons of your favorite shows, you won’t find them here. However, you can watch primetime programming live by clicking on your Fox local channel in the live guide.

The app leans heavily into linear territory, instead of creating bespoke, original content. The reason, according to CEO Lachlan Murdoch, is to keep costs low and attract a cord-cutting crowd who wants access to Fox’s content, without subscribing to cable TV.

Fox One has plenty of content for sports fanatics and consumers of Fox News programming. The viewing experience is surprisingly immersive. The lineup of on-demand and live sports games goes quite deep here. For instance, football fans can find a plethora of NFL content on the app. It’s the first league listed in its programming row. Since Fox carries NFL games that are broadcast on Sunday afternoons, you can stream them on Fox One (and be sure to check out CNET’s NFL cord-cutters’ streaming guide).

The leagues row on the Fox One app is packed with sports programming options.

Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET

There’s more than NFL games available on Fox One. A lot more. After a quick scroll-through on the Sports menu, I found the Leagues row halfway down the page. You can find nearly everything here, from MLB and college football to NASCAR, LIV Golf, college basketball, women’s college basketball and MLS. Take note: The NBA does not have a presence on Fox One.

There are rows upon rows of sports content dedicated to the leagues I listed above. It’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest. The amount of sport-specific replays and recaps can be dizzying to someone like me (I don’t really follow sports), but for die-hard fans, this is an absolute treasure trove. If you need a break from the games, you can find a plethora of sports analysis programming.

The app’s Top 10 picks are clickable for each menu listing — Sports, Shows and News — so if you want to watch the episodes of popular titles like Gutfeld!, Family Guy, Jesse Watters Primetime, The Joel Klatt Show or Outnumbered, you can stream new seasons (and in some cases, a few older seasons). If you have a favorite host or Fox personality, the Fox Voices row lists popular commentators like Tom Brady, Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright, and you can follow any of them to personalize your viewing experience.

Should you get it?

Only the latest season of The Simpsons is available to watch on the Fox One app.

Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET

It really depends on what you’re looking for. Fox One, at least in its current iteration, is an app that’s meant to act as a supplemental means of watching Fox content. The library of Fox’s primetime hits may be lacking, but there’s a strong possibility that you’re already subscribed to Hulu, Disney Plus or another streamer that has these shows.

The app is stacked with content, though. If you’re a big sports fan or can’t get enough of Fox News, Fox One may be of interest. It’s got the desirable features like multiview and the live guide I mentioned earlier. Fox One is available on pretty much every device available on the market, but the user experience varies. And then there are the accessibility difficulties I mentioned above.

If you’re already a cable TV subscriber, I can see the value in using Fox One at no additional cost. But outside of that, Fox One, as a standalone app, doesn’t feel like it’s worth the $20 monthly price tag. Perhaps that’ll change now that the bundle with ESPN is live.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

A Newly Discovered ‘Einstein’s Cross’ Reveals the Existence of a Giant Dark Matter Halo

by admin October 3, 2025

The gravitational lensing not only splits the light source, but magnifies it, allowing a detailed view of the light source behind the lens. Thanks to this, the team says that HerS-3 appears to be a bright starburst galaxy—a galaxy undergoing explosive star formation—and was formed at a time when star formation was at its peak throughout the universe. HerS-3 also has a tilted, rotating disk, from the center of which gas is gushing out at a furious rate, the team say.

“Thanks to this natural telescope, we can zoom into regions 10 times smaller than the Milky Way, almost 12 billion light-years away, and in the process infer hidden matter in the light-of-sight,” said Hugo Mesias, a coauthor of the paper, in a statement.

A Giant Dark Matter Halo Revealed

At first glance, the Einstein’s cross of HerS-3 appears to have been created solely by gravitational lensing generated by the four giant galaxies located between HerS-3 and Earth. However, using a precise model of gravitational lensing, the team found that the observable mass of these four giant galaxies is insufficient to explain the arrangement of the five images of the cross: their mass is simply not great enough to produce the visual effect seen.

“The only way to reproduce the remarkable configuration we observed was to add an invisible, massive component: a dark matter halo at the center of the galaxy group,” said lead author Pierre Cox, from the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Crashout Crew looks like Overcooked-style mayhem from one of the studios behind Peak

by admin October 3, 2025

It’s been quite the year for Aggro Crab. After stopping production on a sequel to Going Under (with funding issues and burnout both factoring into that decision), the studio decided to focus on self-funded game jam projects before moving onto another big game. Some of the team collaborated with Content Warning developer Landfall to create Peak. With the help of clever marketing, that co-op climbing game turned out to be a huge hit, selling 10 million copies in just two months.

The rest of the Aggro Crab squad focused on a different multiplayer game, which is called Crashout Crew. This is a party game for up to four players (there’s a single-player option too) in which you’ll try to complete orders in hazard-filled warehouses using cute, color-coded forklifts. Time is of the essence as you race to meet quotas by loading boxes into trucks, so it’s just as well that you can drift around corners. Just be careful not to drop any explosives.

You’ll be skidding around icy environments and spinning out if you run over a broken egg. Falling rocks, bees and blackouts all add to the chaos. You can upgrade your forklift and warehouse, though they’ll reset after the level ends.

The reveal trailer reminds me quite a bit of Overcooked. I wonder if this could turn out to be just as effective as a litmus test for how well you communicate with family and friends.

I adore Another Crab’s Treasure, Aggro Crab’s last large-scale game, so I’ll always be interested in whatever the studio is cooking up. I’m looking forward to trying out Crashout Crew when the demo goes live on October 13 as part of Steam Next Fest. The game is scheduled to hit Steam next year.

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October 3, 2025 0 comments