Some of the sets’ props are drawn directly from the games, others are more… unexpected. When Lego announced its tech-packed Smart Bricks at CES, we were impressed by the potential – enough to give it our Best in Show award. But when the first Star Wars sets actually launched in March, we were less enamored. All that promise of clever interaction and creative play ultimately boiled down to a few voice barks and flashing lights, with the smartest features we’d seen at CES nowhere to be found. Today, Lego announced the second generation, with 12 new sets launching this summer, promising Pok&…
Category: Technology
Blue Origin plans to launch New Glenn again this year after explosion
CEO Dave Limp said damage to the company’s launchpad in Florida was not as bad as expected. But Blue Origin still hasn’t shared the cause of last week’s explosion.
The Star Fox remake is a test for the franchise’s future
Nintendo is trying to bring back Fox’s mojo with a beautiful remake of the series’ best game.
Meta’s Forum is part Reddit, part Facebook, and part Google AI Overview
Meta’s new Forum app for iPhones takes Facebook Groups and moves them to a dedicated app with a dedicated AI chatbot to go with it, like an AI revamp of the ill-fated Groups app Facebook shut down in 2017. Rather than going to ChatGPT or tacking “Reddit” onto the end of a Google search, Forum users can view, search for, and post advice directly in their Facebook groups, with optional help from Meta’s AI. After logging in with my Facebook account, Forum automatically pulled in the groups I was part of on Facebook and populated my feed with posts from those groups, along with suggestions from…
Elon, stop trying to make Grok happen
There is a harsh truth about Elon Musk’s “truth-seeking” AI chatbot Grok: It’s not very good, and not many people are using it. That’s the takeaway of a new Reuters report, which found that Grok barely appears in federal records of how the US government used AI last year. It’s not the only sign xAI’s signature chatbot is in trouble, even as Musk puts it at the heart of what could be the biggest IPO in history.Reuters reviewed more than 400 examples of government AI use where specific vendors were named. Grok or xAI, it found, appeared in only three – each of those for basic uses like document…
The best Memorial Day sales you can shop this weekend
Memorial Day is nearly here, meaning the seasonal sales are in full swing. If your weekend plans involve pool parties or barbecues, now is a great time to pick up a portable speaker or set of solar lights, as many of our favorite models are currently on sale. You can also find deals on everything from 4K OLED TVs and noise-canceling earbuds to tents, robot vacuums, and plenty of our favorite everyday essentials.To give you more options, we’ve also included a selection of deals from retailers that aren’t necessarily running their own Memorial Day sales but are still offering limited-time…
Kash Patel’s clothing brand website shut down after reports it was hacked
According to users on X, the website was hijacked by hackers in an attempt to trick visitors into installing malware.
Google I/O 2026: All the news and announcements
Google I/O 2026 kicks off today, with the event’s keynote presentation slated for 10AM PT / 1PM ET on May 19th. Gemini is expected to be front-and-center once again at this year’s developer conference, with Google potentially introducing new versions of AI models and more agentic AI features. Google already showed off a bunch of AI features coming to Android 17, including AI-generated widgets, during the Android Show. The keynote is likely to bring similar updates to Search and other Google properties. We could also get an update on Google XR, and potentially even a glimpse at…
Sony’s 1000X The Collexion are a luxurious and expensive celebration of its iconic headphones
Ten years ago Sony introduced the MDR-1000X headphones. They combined noise canceling, good sound, design, and comfort in a way that we hadn’t quite seen before in a set of wireless headphones. (At the time, the Bose QC35 were the closest competitor, but I wasn’t a huge fan of their sound tuning.) The 1000X set off a line of consistently excellent wireless noise-canceling headphones that became the go-to for comparisons – I still have a pair of WH-1000XM4s that hang on the side of my desk. To celebrate the launch of the original, Sony is releasing the 1000X The Collexion. (The X in “collexion…
An AI announcer mispronounced and skipped names during a graduation
Glendale Community College president Tiffany Hernandez apologized for the mistakes and eventually offered many students a do-over. | Screenshot: YouTube The use of AI-powered tools to announce students as they walk on stage during graduation and commencement ceremonies has grown in popularity over the past few years, but it’s not always succeeding at the one job it’s there for. Many schools have switched to these systems as a way to ensure names are being pronounced correctly, but during a recent livestream of a Glendale Community College commencement ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona, the AI…
