The next entry in the Pokémon Legends series takes us back to the region first explored in Pokémon X and Y later this year.
Our First Real Look at Pokémon Legends Z-A Whisks Us Back to Kalos
Monthly Archives: February 2025
Here’s Your First Look At Pokémon Legends: Z-A
After a year of waiting since seeing that tantalizing teaser last Pokémon Day, Game Freak has finally revealed the first in-game footage of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Before today, all we knew about the Switch game was what was revealed on Pokémon Day 2024. Legends Z-A is set entirely in the Kalos metropolis of Lumiose…
Dyson WashG1 Wet Vacuum Cleaner Sees First Price Drop Since Launch, Over $100 Off
Time to tackle those heavier messes with a machine that can handle it all.
Apple AirTag four-packs drop to a new record-low price
Now’s the time to pick up a couple more AirTags. Amazon’s having a sale right now that brings a four-pack of AirTags down to $68, which is 31 percent off and a new record low. That brings the price per AirTag down to only $17, which is a far cry from the standard $29 price for one. If you’ve wanted an extra one of these Bluetooth trackers for your backpack, luggage or wallet, picking up a four pack now will get you the best price we’ve seen.
AirTags are easily one of the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy today, especially if you’re an iOS user — setting them up and connecting them to your account is pretty much a one-tap affair. The Find My network is vast, what with all the iPhones and AirTags already out there, helping you find a belonging that you’re tracking if you lose it.
When you’re looking for an item, you can play a sound on the AirTag’s built-in speaker from your iPhone to help you find it. If you have a newer phone, the AirTag’s Ultra Wideband technology can even lead you right to it if it’s nearby. You’ll be able to see exactly how far you are from the tag, and you’ll get directions on your device’s screen. Take note that since AirTags are round, coin-like objects with no way to attach to an item on their own, you’ll have to get accessories to be able to use them as keychains or to attach them to your pets’ collars.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/apple-airtag-four-packs-drop-to-a-new-record-low-price-120018787.html?src=rss
The surveillance tech waiting for workers as they return to the office
Scan the online brochures of companies who sell workplace monitoring tech and you’d think the average American worker was a renegade poised to take their employer down at the next opportunity. “Nearly half of US employees admit to time theft!” “Biometric readers for enhanced accuracy!” “Offer staff benefits in a controlled way with Vending Machine Access!”
A new wave of return-to-office mandates has arrived since the New Year, including at JP Morgan Chase, leading advertising agency WPP, and Amazon—not to mention President Trump’s late January directive to the heads of federal agencies to “terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person … on a full-time basis.” Five years on from the pandemic, when the world showed how effectively many roles could be performed remotely or flexibly, what’s caused the sudden change of heart?
“There’s two things happening,” says global industry analyst Josh Bersin, who is based in California. “The economy is actually slowing down, so companies are hiring less. So there is a trend toward productivity in general, and then AI has forced virtually every company to reallocate resources toward AI projects.
zlib-rs is faster than C
I’m sure we can all have a calm, rational discussion about this, so here it goes: zlib-rs, the Rust re-implementation of the zlib library, is now faster than its C counterparts in both decompression and compression.
The World’s Largest Brick Collection
This is a Guinness World Record video highlighting the brick collection of Tulsa, Oklahoma great grandfather Clem Reinkemeyer, who has the largest collection of unique bricks in the world, with a respectable 8,882. I feel like he handles them all a little too haphazardly, but they’re his bricks, if he wants to accidentally drop and break one that’s his business. But the way he talks about them all with such passion — and they’re BRICKS. I wish I could muster even a quarter of that passion about anything in life.
Longer video HERE in case you’re a brickhead yourself.
Mannequin Goes Free-To-Play On Quest As PC VR Version Gets Price Cut
Mannequin, Fast Travel’s Prop Hunt-inspired VR multiplayer game, is now free-to-play on Quest.
Initially a paid-for release, Mannequin by Fast Travel Games is a 2v3 multiplayer game where two agents hunt down three shapeshifting aliens. The free download on Quest features most of the game, though a ‘Premium Upgrade’ enables features like mod support, character skins unlocked through progression, additional maps, Custom Games, and rotating game types. This upgrade costs $9.99 and that’s automatically unlocked if you previously bought the game.
The PC VR release will remain a paid-for app, despite the Quest version switching to a free-to-play download. However, Fast Travel Games confirmed it’s reducing the price permanently on Steam by 50% from $19.99, matching the Quest’s ‘Premium Upgrade’ cost at $9.99. Elsewhere, today’s update also introduces a new map called Towers, which adds portals into the equation.
Today’s announcement follows last month’s news that 60% of the Fast Travel Games staff faced redundancy after “lower sales than expected” across 2024. Alongside Mannequin, which took our award for 2024’s Best New VR Multiplayer Game, the studio launched five additional titles: Action Hero, Project Demigod, BlackForge, Band Space, and the PlayStation VR2 port for Into The Radius.
While we’ve seen this approach before with Population: One and Gorilla Tag – two games that both have free-to-play versions on Quest but not Steam – Mannequin’s switch comes at a time when an increasing number of developers are sharing their concerns about the Meta Quest storefront.
From Quest To Horizon: How Meta’s Shifting Priorities Are Affecting Developers
With growing concerns about declining sales and discoverability, UploadVR spoke with nearly two dozen VR studios to discuss the current state of shipping VR games on Quest.
Henry Stockdale
In our recent Quest Store report, numerous teams highlighted major concerns with Meta’s perceived shift to prioritizing free-to-play content, leading to an average revenue drop-off for the interviewed studios between 50-80%. With this and the recent layoffs in mind, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see Mannequin making this change.
Mannequin is available now on the Meta Quest platform and Steam.
Kia’s EV4, its first electric sedan, will be available in the US later this year
Kia has officially launched the EV4, its first electric sedan and hatchback, at the 2025 Kia EV Day in Tarragona, Spain. The company first unveiled the EV4 as a concept at CES last year, along with several other models. Buyers can choose between the 58.3 kWh standard and the 81.4 kWh long-range battery options, with the long-ranger sedan being able to run for 630 km (391.5 miles) on a single charge. Meanwhile, the standard battery sedan can last for 430 km (267 miles), whereas the hatchback vehicle has a range of 590 km (366.6 miles). The vehicle’s 150 kW motor can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds for the standard battery variant and 7.7 seconds for the long-range variant. Both variations have a top speed of 170 km/h.
The EV4 models use Kia’s Digital Key 2.0 system that will let owners control certain functions remotely, such as being able to the start the vehicles’ engines, through an app across 15 different devices. It even works with Apple Watch. The electric vehicles come with Kia’s Highway Driving Assist technology that give owners access to Driver Attention Warning, Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, Lane Following Assist, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist and Remote Parking Assist Entry. There’s also an advanced feature called Driving Package F+ that can detect hazardous situations using cameras and radars and can help drivers maneuver their vehicles to safety.
Kia will be manufacturing the EV4 sedan in Korea, where it will initially be available starting in March. It will produce the five-door hatchback version, meant for sale in Europe in the second half of the year, in Slovakia. The company has yet to reveal when it will start manufacturing the EV4 for the North American market, but it assured interested buyers that it’s releasing the vehicle in the United States.
In addition to launching the EV4, Kia has also unveiled the Concept EV2 (pictured below) during the event. It described the EV2 as compact and city-friendly, with an expandable interior that has folding second-row seats. Kia is planning to sell the EV2 in “Europe and other regions” starting in 2026.
Kia
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/kias-ev4-its-first-electric-sedan-will-be-available-in-the-us-later-this-year-140039030.html?src=rss
Bluesky Dubs AI Video of Trump Sucking Elon Musk’s Toes ‘Non-Consensual Explicit Material’
The platform has since reinstated the videos.
Doctor Who Reveals the Familiar Star Behind Its Creepy New Cartoon Villain
Plus, get a glimpse at Stephen Spielberg’s mystery new UFO movie.
15 Heart-Stopping Medical Dramas to Stream After ‘The Pitt’
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Noah Wiley can’t seem to escape the emergency room. After spending more than a decade on NBC’s ’90s mega-hit E.R., he’s back in scrubs for HBO’s buzzy new doctor show The Pitt. If that show hasn’t quite scratched your itch for medical drama, there are plenty of other shows to stream.
The genre’s roots can be traced back to the early ’60s, and the sexy Dr. Kildare, but it really exploded in the ’70s with shows like Medical Center, Emergency!, and Quincy, M.E., all of them fairly soapy dramas with plenty of action and occasional doses of silliness. Later in the decade, M.A.S.H. became a hit by lacing the sit-com formula with medical pathos, but it was 1982’s St. Elsewhere that gave us the template for the medical shows of today: dramatic, serious, and with a large cast of doctors and nurses whose personal lives are often in conflict with their work. That show set the standard, and inspired dozens of medical shows that followed—a bunch of which you can currently find on your favorite streaming service.
The Pitt (2025 – )
But first, a little about The Pitt if you have yet to check in for your appointment. Noah Wyle (ER) is back in scrubs as Dr. Michael “Robby” Rabinavitch, senior attending at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital’s emergency room. Robby’s mentor died during the height of COVID-19, and he’s only just recovering from his traumatic experiences. It’s gonna be a long day, though: Each episode is a single hour of his 15-hour shift. It’s relatively early days, but the show has already won critical acclaim and a renewal for a second season. You can stream The Pitt on Max.
Watson (2025 – )
Hard to say if this new Morris Chestnut-led series will go any kind of distance, but it’s looking promising, and the premise is so wacky, it’s worth checking out either way. Chestnut plays a modern-day Dr. John Watson (yes, that Dr. Watson), who was sidekick to Sherlock Holmes before his detective pal took a header off of the Reichenbach Falls. Now he’s on his own in Pittsburgh, running clinic dedicated to helping people with mysterious ailments—ones requiring a doctor who’s also a bit of a detective. You can stream Watson on Paramount+.
Call the Midwife (2012 – )
Set at the dawn of Britain’s National Health Service, Call the Midwife explores an era when many were receiving modern healthcare for the very first time, as the nuns of London’s Nonnatus House, who had been providing basic midwifery services for decades, are joined by secular nurses and given public funding. The show deals frankly with women’s health issues in a way that few other series have ever bothered, and its rotating cast of characters has helped it to remain a beloved favorite for over a decade, both in its native Britain and across the pond. You can stream Call the Midwife on Netflix and PBS.
New Amsterdam (2018 – 2023)
Even the most realistic medical dramas have soapy aspects, but New Amsterdam leans into that side of things more than most. Ryan Eggold plays Dr. Maximus “Max” Goodwin, the slightly annoying new medical director at one of the oldest public hospitals in the U.S. He looking to freshen up the outdated hospital and bring down its stodgy bureaucracy, with Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman by his side. The show occasionally sags under the weight of its subplots, but it’s still fun to watch Max fight for public health. You can stream New Amsterdam on Peacock.
House (2004 – 2012)
Like the much more recent Watson, House showcases investigative medicine, with Hugh Laurie’s as the titular Dr. Holmes (er, House) and Robert Sean Leonard as Watson (OK, Wilson). Not only is the show tightly paced and compact, it also has the benefit of Laurie, giving a career-defining performance as one of TV’s greatest assholes, a wonderfully acerbic curmudgeon who nonetheless gets results. You can stream House on Prime Video, Hulu, and Peacock.
Getting On (2013 – 2015)
One of the few medical shows willing to tackle aging and geriatric care, Getting On considers the trials faced by the staff at an underfunded extended care facility. The fact that it’s a frequently very dark comedy doesn’t make it any less impressive in its handling of tough topics. Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein, Niecy Nash, and Mel Rodriguez star. You can stream Getting On on Max.
The Knick (2014 – 2015)
The Steven Soderbergh-directed The Knick takes us back to the glory days of American medical care—specifically, 1900 New York, and the fictional Knickerbocker Hospital, with Clive Owen’s Dr. John Thackery as the well-intentioned head of surgery who also happens to have a rather significant opium addiction. He’s joined by André Holland as Dr. Algernon C. Edwards, a Black assistant chief surgeon who runs rings around most of his colleagues but still can’t seem to get any credit for it (he’s based on a couple of real-life doctors of the era). Like the best period medical dramas, this one’s a good reminder that modern medicine ain’t so bad. You can stream The Knick on Max.
St. Elsewhere (1982 – 1987)
Beginning life as a gritty, realistic-ish hospital drama, St. Elsewhere grew into something weirder, funnier, and far more experimental, leading to that all-time memorable series finale (iykyk). In doing so, it also created a template followed by every medical show that followed it. The cast alone is wild, made up of TV and movie greats past and present, including Norman Lloyd, William Daniels, Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, and Alfre Woodard, among many, many others. It’s a little slower than the more frenetic shows that followed it, but still a deeply engrossing watch. You can stream St. Elsewhere on Hulu.
E.R. (1994 – 2009)
A natural successor to St. Elsewhere, E.R. is less weird but does one better in its commitment to portraying something hospital drama that at least feels like reality. With another rotating cast that kept the show fresh over an impressive 15 seasons, E.R.’s innovation was in its willingness to drag viewers along at a breakneck pace, counting on us to keep up with the fast-paced dialogue loaded with medical jargon. At its best, the show makes you feel like you’re really catching a glimpse of life in an underfunded city emergency room. You can stream ER on Hulu and Max.
Childrens Hospital (2008 – 2016)
A relentless, and relentlessly memeable satire of medical dramas in general, this comedy centers on the staff of the titular hospital, named for founder Arthur Childrens (motto: “I believe that Childrens is the future.”) The show can’t be bothered with continuity; instead, each episode dives into a very silly/smart brand of dark comedy defined by its commitment to randomness. The stacked cast includes creator Rob Cordry, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler, and Malin Åkerman. You can buy episodes of Childrens Hospital from Prime Video.
Scrubs (2001 – 2010)
This scrappy sitcom was resuscitated at least once during its initial run, only finally declared dead after an impressive nine seasons, though it’s due for a revival from original creator Bill Lawrence. Zach Braff plays J.D. Dorian, who begins the show as an intern at the fictional teaching hospital, Sacred Heart. While playing with slapstick and incorporating surreal dream sequences, the show earned high marks from medical professionals, who apparently found it more accurate in depicting details of hospital life than many prestige medical dramas. You can stream Scrubs on Hulu and Peacock.
Grey’s Anatomy (2005 – )
From Grey’s Anatomy did Shonda Rhimes’ mighty TV empire spring, yet the show that started it all is somehow still going strong in its 21st season. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompey) continues to head the team of doctors at Seattle Grace alongside Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. Deft cast rotations have kept things relatively fresh for over two decades and more than 430 episodes. You can stream Grey’s Anatomy on Hulu and Netflix.
This is Going to Hurt (2022)
This British miniseries, loosely adapted the memoir from comedian Adam Kay, chronicles Kay’s time as a trainee doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology circa 2006. Ben Whislaw stars as Kay, facing down daily challenges that range from the very funny to the shocking and horrific. The show makes clear that, while the contexts are very different, British doctors also struggle with chaotic working conditions and lack of institutional support, particularly at the intern level. You can stream This is Going to Hurt on AMC+.
Transplant (2020 – 2024)
There’s much that’s familiar in this Canadian drama, but the show stands apart because of the unique perspective of its lead character (at least as far as mainstream medical dramas go). Hamza Haq plays Bashir “Bash” Hamed, a refugee of the Syrian Civil War who comes to Toronto to rebuild his life and career as an E.R. resident. He‘s unable to get a job in his chosen field until his heroic actions during the first episode garner him the right kind of attention. Even still, he faces discrimination as a doctor, and suffers the aftereffects of wartime trauma, even as his skills and experience prove extremely valuable. You can stream Transplant on Peacock.
Nurse Jackie (2009 – 2015)
Edie Falco followed up her run on The Sopranos with this similarly lauded comedy-drama that earned her six consecutive Emmy nominations and one win. She plays the titular nurse in the Emergency Department at All Saints’ Hospital in NYC. At the outset of the series, Jackie is married but having an affair, mostly to get the various pills she’s addicted to—which gives you a sense of the messiness of Jackie’s life and work. You can buy Nurse Jackie from Apple TV.
Microsoft Urges Trump To Overhaul Curbs on AI Chip Exports
Microsoft is pushing the Trump administration to loosen and simplify a new system that would restrict the sales of cutting-edge U.S. artificial-intelligence chips to much of the world. From a report: In a blog post that is scheduled to be released Thursday, Microsoft will call for Trump’s team to ease the limits on chips that can be used in data centers for training AI models so they no longer apply to a group of U.S. allies including India, Switzerland and Israel [non-paywalled source], company officials said. Those countries are in the second tier of a three-tier system that underpins the export controls.
Microsoft says the unintended consequence of that proposed system would be that allies facing limited U.S. chip supply would turn to China to get the tech infrastructure they need. China is using the proposed rule to argue to other countries that it would be a better long-term partner for AI infrastructure than the U.S., Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an interview. “Their message is these countries can’t rely on the U.S., but China is willing to provide what they need,” he said. “That is not good for American business or American foreign policy.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
This App Is On A Mission To Recommend You The Perfect Game
What if finding the perfect game to play was as easy as swiping left and right in a dating app, minus the actual horrors of online dating? That’s part of the pitch behind Ludoscene, an app for game recommendations that uses humans rather than machines to tell you what to play. The other part of the pitch is turning…
Prop Hunt-style Game ‘Mannequin’ Goes Free-to-Play on Quest as Freemium Multiplayer Games Thrive
Mannequin (2024), the VR game that brings a unique twist to prop hunt, is going free-to-play on Quest starting today—which could point to more developers opting to go the freemium route.
Launched last June on Quest and SteamVR headsets, Mannequin isn’t your typical shooter, nor is it your typical game of prop hunt, which usually involves a team of hunters shooting everything that moves, and their prey evading them by morphing into everyday objects.
Instead, two gun-toting Agents hunt three shape-shifting aliens, aka Mannequins, who can evade capture by blending into crowds of frozen NPCs. Agents can track down a Mannequin to a general area, but can only fire their gun once before a cool down period, giving aliens the perfect moment to leap out and strike down the hunter.
Now, developer Fast Travel Games is making Mannequin free-to-play on Quest, which includes the base game and a variety of maps. A $10 in-app purchase adds in progression-locked character skins, custom games, rotating game types, more maps, and mod support. The studio hasn’t mentioned any other microtransactions beyond that $10 paywall.
Much like Gorilla Tag, Mannequin will still be a paid app on Steam, albeit with a new price of $10 (originally $20). While the studio hasn’t said as much, Another Axiom says Gorilla Tag does this to keep away griefers, who can more easily hack the game on PC and clog servers with unwanted behavior.
The free-to-play launch also comes with a new update, which includes a new map, called ‘Towers’, which introduces portals to the game for the first time. You can find Mannequin over on the Horizon Store for Quest 2 and above for free, and over on Steam for PC VR headsets, priced at $10.
But why free-to-play, and why now? While generally well-received, Mannequin isn’t the most popular multiplayer game out there; we haven’t seen concurrent player numbers on Quest, its most popular platform, although on Steam it only counted an all-time peak of 26 PC players following launch, according to SteamDB data. Making the game free-to-play will undoubtedly boost those numbers across both platforms, although there seems to be something bigger at play.
While freemium games like Gorilla Tag, Population: One, Rec Room, and Animal Company have fared well on Quest in the past, the free-to-play trend appears to be growing on the standalone platform.
Meta’s VP of Metaverse Content, Samantha Ryan, recently confirmed that Quest has seen an influx of younger users with the launch of Quest 3S, which is contributing to the rise of free-to-play titles. Younger players tend to spend more time in social games—and while Ryan doesn’t explicitly state this—they also spend more money on in-app purchases.
So, while Mannequin certainly isn’t the first, we expect it won’t be the last ‘premium’ Quest game to jump on the free-to-play bandwagon following Meta’s announcement, as developers are undoubtedly looking to nab even a fraction of the virality Gorilla Tag saw, which led it to topping $100 million in gross revenue last summer.
The post Prop Hunt-style Game ‘Mannequin’ Goes Free-to-Play on Quest as Freemium Multiplayer Games Thrive appeared first on Road to VR.
Orion Drift is a bit like the metaverse we were promised
Orion Drift is the new project from Gorilla Tag studio Another Axiom. And after trying it out for myself, I’m convinced it’s a glimpse into the future of virtual reality.
The post Orion Drift is a bit like the metaverse we were promised appeared first on MIXED Reality News.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Drops by Up to $1,200 and Cheaper Than the New Apple iPhone 16E
The biggest hitter in Samsung’s brand-new S25 smartphone lineup is $200 less than Apple’s entry-level iPhone if you cash in all of your trade-in credits.
FreeBSD In Q4 Saw More Work For AMD Systems, Framework Laptops & PinePhone Pro
The FreeBSD project this morning published their quarterly status report that outlines all of the interesting OS improvements and other changes made during Q4’2024…
CDC Posts First Bird Flu Update Since Trump Took Office
Two new humans cases in Ohio and Wyoming were hospitalized.
One of our favorite Baseus power banks is more than $50 off right now
Here’s a great deal on one of our favorite power banks. You can pick up the skinny Baseus Blade for $47.59 with the help of our exclusive code. That’s 52 percent off the regular price of $100. To get the full discount, you’ll need to clip the 10 percent coupon on the product page. Then, at checkout, be sure to use the code BGAEY8HX to get the full discount.
The Baseus Blade is our pick for the best budget laptop power bank. Thanks to the slim form factor and light weight (it’s just over a pound), it’s easy to slip into a bag next to your laptop. It has a decent array of ports, with two USB-C and two USB-A slots. There’s support for 100W fast charging via the USB-C ports. You can also track charging speed and time on an LED display.
The power bank has a capacity of 20,000mAh, which is enough to charge a fifth-gen iPad Air 1.5 times over or a 14-inch MacBook Pro to 80 percent, per Baseus. In our testing, we found that it could top up a 16-inch MacBook Pro’s battery from 10 percent to 62 percent in just over an hour. You can also use it to juice up a portable games console, such as a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck.
There’s certainly a trade off compared with beefier power banks that have a larger capacity. But in terms of bang for your buck, the Baseus Blade isn’t bad at all, especially when you factor in the convenience of the slim, 0.7-inch design.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-baseus-power-banks-is-more-than-50-off-right-now-160430591.html?src=rss