The first full week of February brings some high-profile Netflix releases to the streaming giant for subscribers to binge, including everything from a new rom-com starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher (Your Place or Mine) to the return of You, Season 4 of which continues the story adapted from Caroline Kepnes' book series.
As we do each week, in this post we'll take a closer look at some of the best and most interesting Netflix releases coming to the platform over the coming days -- including when they'll all be available to stream. And if you want more ideas for what to watch next in addition to what's listed below, you can also check out our recent rundown of several Netflix shows that all have perfect scores on Rotten Tomatoes as of the time of this writing.
The Apple Watch is one of the best wearable devices on the market, especially if you're an iPhone user. The device has many exciting features, but two stand out above the rest. The most important thing the Apple Watch can do is monitor your health and exercise habits. The device can be incredibly helpful if you want to lead a healthier life.
The other great feature is quick access to notifications. Owning an Apple Watch will allow you to spend less time checking your iPhone for notifications. The wearable will tell you when a new alert arrives, and you can decide whether to respond or not.
But to make the most of owning an Apple Watch, you'll need to know about a few hidden features that will make interacting with the wearable easier.
The legend of Bigfoot has existed for generations. All around the world, tales of a hairy, humanoid creature lurking in the woods have sprouted, some even offering video evidence. However, scientists believe Bigfoot's existence could have a very simple explanation. According to researchers, we can probably attribute these mysterious sightings to rare occasions of bears walking on their hind legs.
American black bears usually tend to walk on all four legs. However, they will stand on their hind legs to get a clearer view of the area, catch a whiff of something interesting, and even reach foods higher up than they are. Now, a data analyst believes they may be able to prove that most Bigfoot sightings are really just sightings of black bears walking on their hind legs.
Floe Foxon, a data analyst at Pinney Associates, has put together an intriguing piece of research looking at multiple sightings of the famous cryptid. However, according to the paper, which is still yet to be peer-reviewed, many of the sightings of Bigfoot could easily be explained away thanks to black bear populations in those areas.
Foxon isn’t the first to see a possible explanation for Bigfoot coming from animals, either. In 2005, another scientist compared projected black bear populations to Bigfoot sightings and found that perhaps another animal might be responsible for those misinterpreted sightings. Then, a paper in 2009 looked at the connection between Bigfoot and black bears once more. It showed a high degree of overlap between the two.
But, what’s really interesting is that Foxon’s rigorous data model shows that in many of the areas where black bears are very common and populous, sightings of the Bigfoot cryptid are more likely to happen. This could very well point towards the explanation for this mysterious creature coming down to misidentification.
But, there are still some Bigfoot sightings that can’t be explained away by simply waving your hand and saying it’s bears standing on two feet, as sightings have popped up in both Texas and Florida, where black bears are not known to breed or populate those areas. The explanation here, then, could be that we’re simply misidentifying multiple animals as mysterious and unknown species that don’t truly exist.
As such, Foxon believes that Bigfoot is really just humans misidentifying a bunch of different bears. Previously scientists have looked for explanations about other mysterious creatures, even testing Yeti DNA. Some even say it's possible that the Loch Ness monster is real, based on fossils found by scientists.
Today's top tech deals on Saturday include some of our favorite sales of the year so far. For example, a best-selling HP Chromebook is on clearance for just $70 renewed. Plus, there are terrific deals on Sony earbuds and Govee LED smart bulbs.
In this roundup, we'll include our 10 favorite tech deals of the day, as well as some bonus deals. Plus, in addition to all the tech deals, we've included a bonus sale that gets you a $20 Amazon credit when you buy household essentials everyone needs.
Last June, Netflix announced a reality competition show based on its original series Squid Game. The show, creatively titled Squid Game: The Competition, would feature 456 players competing in challenges similar to those from the Netflix series for a record-breaking cash prize of $4.56 million. Unfortunately, according to contestants, the competition show was a rigged disaster that mirrored Squid Game more closely than any of them could have imagined.
Was Squid Game: The Competition rigged?
On Thursday, Motherboard published a fascinating exposé about Squid Game: The Competition, which was already embroiled in controversy after The Sun reported multiple contestants had been injured. To add insult to injury, former contestants claimed the show was rigged from the start, and even explained to Motherboard how they came to that conclusion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ay0kD3FSEU
According to the contestants that spoke to Motherboard, they were discouraged from speaking to one another from the moment they arrived. Early in the morning, prior to the first game, they were all loaded onto a freezing bus to be transported to an airport hangar where the filming would take place. They were reprimanded for speaking to other contestants during the bus ride.
Once they arrived at the hangar, the contestants were provided with "weak coffee and breakfast sandwiches" that were all but frozen. They waited for two to three hours in a holding room, which is when they started talking and realized that while everyone had been given microphone packs, some of the mics didn't actually work.
The contestant that spoke to Motherboard talked with a number of other participants in that room. One had not applied at all but had been sought out by a producer. There were twins, a father and child, and a TikTok star among them. As they spoke, they realized that some of them already had flights booked for later that week while others didn't.
“I’m like, ‘Well, maybe it’s just cheaper for them to do that and do a change fee,” the contestant remembered telling the others, but many of them were skeptical. “I’m like, ‘But it’s a competition! They don’t know who’s going to win!’”
That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the chaos and confusion the contestants had to deal with while participating, so be sure to read the entire piece from Motherboard if you want to know more. Netflix has still yet to announce a release date for Squid Game: The Competition, but honestly, that might be for the best.
Well, this was all fun and games until this story popped up.
As reported by Vice, a judge in Columbia has actually used ChatGPT to assist in making a court decision. Judge Juan Manuel Padilla Garcia, a judge in the First Circuit Court in Cartagena, Columbia, confirmed that he used the AI tool to "pose legal questions about the case and included its responses in his decision."
After more than a decade of observations, Northwestern University astrophysicist Jason Wang has constructed an amazing time-lapse video of four planets larger than Jupiter as they revolve around their star, giving viewers a one-of-a-kind glimpse into planetary motion.
Wang, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, pointed out that it can be difficult to detect planets in a rotating orbit, which is why this video of planetary motion is so striking.
Objects in our solar system, like Jupiter and Mars, are barely visible since we are in the same system and don’t have a top-down view, Wang explains in a statement. Planetary events occur too promptly or slowly, making it hard to capture video of planetary motion of this caliber.
However, the video captured here showcases these motions on a human timescale, showcasing over 12 years of planetary motion for viewers to take in. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, showing just how much more there is for us to learn about our universe.
https://youtu.be/x9EG3gbQ5P0
HR8799, the system showcased in the video displaying the planetary motion, is located 133.3 light-years from Earth in the Pegasus constellation. This star is roughly 30 million years old and is 1.5 times more massive and five times brighter than our sun. In 2008, it became the first star system whose planets were directly captured in images.
From there, Wang began to watch the system, eventually capturing over 12 years of data which he has now turned into this time-lapse video showcasing the planetary motion within the system. And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen time-lapses of astronomical value popping up, either.
Last year, astronomers created a time-lapse of Jupiter’s rotation using half a million images. We’ve also seen time-lapses of sunspots, which astronomers have used to better study and understand the activity within our own star.
Given that the K-pop group BTS is pretty much the biggest music act on the planet right now, you can probably imagine how whenever the group's individual members talk favorably about a product ... boom! Its sales immediately go through the roof. BTS member Jungkook, in particular, has been given the affectionate nickname of "Sold Out King" for his Midas-like ability to talk about anything and generate massive buzz around it. That's exactly what he just did on a live stream Friday morning in the US, during which he ate fried chicken as he watched Netflix's new Korean reality seriesPhysical: 100.
We're not exaggerating here, by the way. As a matter of fact, Jungkook doesn't even have to talk, per se, about the things that make him the "Sold Out King." Also during his live stream, for example, members of BTS' "Army" -- the name for the group's passionate fandom -- spotted a particular candle that Jungkook uses which was visible during the live stream and ... you guessed it, it's already sold out.
After Cracking Another 'Secure' Messaging App, European Police Arrest 42 Slashdot reader lexios shares this report from the French international news agency Agence France-Press:
European police arrested 42 suspects and seized guns, drugs and millions in cash, after cracking another encrypted online me
Bitcoin's 2023 Price Rise 'Very Suspicious', Says Manipulation Researcher In 2017 the New York Times covered research co-authored by John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas, into Hong Kong-based Bitfinex, "one of the largest and least regulated exchanges in the industry."
Mr. Griff
Proposed Linux Patch Allows Disabling CPU Security Mitigations at Build-Time Phoronix reports:
A proposed Linux kernel patch would provide a new Kconfig build time option of "CONFIG_DEFAULT_CPU_MITIGATIONS_OFF" to build an insecure kernel if wanting to avoid the growing list of CPU security mitigations wi
Disney Explores the Sale of More Films and TV Series To Rivals An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Walt Disney Co. is exploring more licensing of its films and television series to rival media outlets as pressure grows to curb the losses in its streaming TV business. The Burba
Google Is Working On Blink-Based iOS Browser, Contrary To Apple's WebKit Rule Longtime Slashdot reader Dotnaught writes: "Google's Chromium developers have begun work on an experimental web browser for Apple's iOS using the search giant's Blink engine," reports The Register. "That's unexpected because the c
Blobs of Human Brain Planted In Rats Offer New Treatment Hope Blobs of human brain tissue have been transplanted into the brains of rats in work that could pave the way for new treatments for devastating brain injuries. The Guardian reports: The groundbreaking study showed that the "human br
Australia To Allow Prescription of MDMA and Psilocybin For Medical Use An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: After decades of "demonization", psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin in Australia from July this year. The Therapeutic Goods Administration made the su
The EU’s new green tech funding plan has sparked concerns about an escalating global subsidy race. The initiative was launched in response to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The act provides $369 billion of subsidies for green technologies, largely through tax credits for products “made in America.” The incentives have triggered fears that EU companies will be enticed to redirect investment and production to the US. Critics claim the measures amount to protectionism that violates existing trade agreements. In response to the act, the EU this week unveiled the Green Deal Industrial Plan — a roadmap to make the bloc’s…
How do you set your company apart from other brands? How do you sell people a product they’re not used to? And how is all that possible without a marketing department? John Schoolcraft, Chief Creative Officer at Oatly, has an answer to all these questions. In 2012, together with CEO Toni Petersson, Schoolcraft began to transform a 30-year-old maker of oat drinks into a worldwide movement devoted to promoting a more sustainable lifestyle. We caught up with Schoolcraft at TNW 2022 and learned how Oatly created a thriving marketing strategy… without a marketing department. If you’d like to get his insights in full, check…
Spain-based Iberdola has secured an environmental license from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) to build a photovoltaic plant in Santiago do Cacém in Portugal. The company claims that it’s set to be Europe’s biggest solar farm and the fifth largest in the world. The solar farm, named after the poet Fernando Pessoa, will start operation in 2025 and will have an installed capacity of 1,200MW. According to Iberdola, it’ll be able to generate enough green energy to cover the needs of around 430,000 homes — equivalent to a population twice the xxxx of the city of Porto. The facility is…
An EV that cleans the air while driving might seem like a pipe dream , but a student team based at the Eindhoven University of Technology has made it reality. TU/ecomotive — as the team is called — has been creating inspiring, environmentally conscious concept cars for over a decade now. Among the concept vehicles presented by the students, last year’s Zem — which stands for “zero emission mobility” — is the most outstanding. It’s a passenger EV that not only paves the way towards vehicle carbon neutrality, but also cleans the air while driving, something that, in turn, reduces…
The Netherlands-based Eleo is on a mission to accelerate the transition to a fossil-free future. How? Well, by providing high-tech batteries to the machines and vehicles most difficult to electrify. These mainly include industrial, off-highway machines in the construction, agricultural, and forestry sectors — but also cover electric mobility, ranging from cargo and last-mile delivery vehicles to vessels. Eleo started out as a student team at the Eindhoven University of Technology, and was founded in 2017. Since then it’s been designing and manufacturing in-house battery systems that boost a high level of performance and flexibility. Specifically, the startup offers modular…
A “metal sock” in the ground stuffed full of hydrogen. Vats of scorching sand. Huge weights moving very, very slowly up and down old mineshafts. Is this the future of energy? This menagerie of strange machines and heat-retaining vessels is poised to emerge across Europe as the continent seeks ways of storing the surplus energy produced by renewables. The UK, for example, wasted half a billion pounds’ worth of wind energy in 2021 because it had nowhere to store it. Without such storage, electricity must be used at the very moment it is generated. As wind energy continues to go…
Whether you suddenly find yourself out of a job, courtesy of the recent wave of tech layoffs sweeping through the sector, or feel like you’ve outgrown your current position and are looking for a new challenge, firing off a generic CV and hoping for the best isn’t going to cut it. In fact, according to online resume builder Zety, only 10% of job applications result in interviews, and job seekers need to send between 30-50 resumes to get hired. That means honing your application skills is essential if you want to stand out and secure an interview that will hopefully…
Tyre wear is a major contributor to polluting microplastics — small particles which don’t biodegrade and tend to accumulate in the environment, leaking harmful toxins into the air and our waterways. And although there’s no respective EU regulation yet, a London-based startup has developed a device that can capture these particles. The Tyre Collective started out as a master’s project by three former students of the Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, who founded the startup in 2020. It claims to have developed the first-ever device that captures tyre pollution. The team discovered that tyre particles are…