Technology

The ashes of the late James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott on the original Star Trek television series, have been aboard the International Space Station for 12 years— and the Times of London has the fascinating backstory of how it happened. Doohan died in 2005 at the age of 85, and his family wanted to fulfill his wish of getting on the ISS. Official requests to bring Doohan’s ashes on the ISS were denied, but Richard Garriott— one of the first private citizens to travel on the space station— managed to smuggle some of Doohan’s ashes into the space station’s Columbus module. Garriott says he took a laminated a picture of Doohan and some of his ashes and put it in under the floor of the Columbus. He didn’t tell anyone about the scheme— only he and Doohan’s family knew un...

Just two days after Wonder Woman 1984 hit theaters and HBO Max, Warner Bros. says it has put the third installment in the franchise on the fast track. Gal Gadot will reprise her role as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and Patty Jenkins will once again write and direct, Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement Sunday. “As fans around the world continue to embrace Diana Prince, driving the strong opening weekend performance of Wonder Woman 1984, we are excited to be able continue her story with our real life Wonder Women – Gal and Patty – who will return to conclude the long-planned theatrical trilogy,” Emmerich said. According to Warner Bros., Wonder Woman 1984’s opening weekend went better than expected, selling $16.7 million in tickets in 2,100 theaters in North America, despite ...

So I watched Wonder Woman 1984 and I may need to watch a second time before I decide what I think because right now I think it’s sort of a parody of 1980s movies that doesn’t quite hit the mark despite a fine performance by Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian!) as the villain. Also about to wrap season 7 in my binge-watch of Homeland… I’ve stuck with it this long so need to find out how it all ends. Note to self though: need to pick something a little less dystopian for the next binge-watching project. It’s our final trailer wrap up for 2020 and we have a little bit of everything: a drama, a documentary, a “psychological thriller,” and a comedy. [embedded content] Tiger A two-part documentary about the life and career of Tiger Woods — yes, it’s being called the Tiger version of the Michael...

Lei Jun, the CEO of Chinese phone maker Xiaomi, has confirmed that its upcoming Mi 11 phone will not come with a charger, citing environmental concerns. While that’s a legitimate argument against providing yet another hunk of plastic that resembles all the other chargers people already have, Xiaomi joined other phone makers who poked fun at Apple a few short months ago for not including chargers with the iPhone 12. Jun made the remarks on Chinese social media site Weibo, saying people have many chargers which creates an environmental burden, and therefore the company was canceling the charger for the Mi 11. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said on Weibo the Mi 11 would come without a charger Apple’s decision not to include chargers with the iPhone 12 was met with some derision, and competitors like Sams...

Whether you’ve just gotten a new Windows-based gaming laptop or desktop, or you just want some new game ideas, we have ten suggestions to make your gaming experience fun. Not all of them are new or the most graphically demanding, but they should provide you with hours of enjoyment. Unlike gaming on a console, there are several ways for PC gamers to get their fix, from Steam and the Epic Game Store to GOG and Xbox Game Pass. It’s important to know that not all platforms offer the same games due to exclusivity rights. But in most cases, you can (and should) shop around — you might find a better price at one storefront versus the other. We’ve rounded up our favorite and most-used games, apps, and entertainment. Check out our app picks for iPhones, Android phones, Windows PCs, and M1-equipped ...

To all of you who got a new Apple device for Christmas, congrats! But you might have some difficulty setting up and signing in to iCloud along with other Apple users. First reported by Apple Insider, as of Saturday morning, Apple’s system status page was showing “some users affected” by an issue that began at around 4:45AM ET on December 25th. “Users may be experiencing a problem with this service,” the status update reads. The issue appears to be affecting multiple devices. The system status page doesn’t show issues with any other parts of iCloud or other Apple services. Apple Support tweeted Friday afternoon that it was aware of the issue, and said it was “experiencing a high capacity at this time, which is impacting your ability to set up iCloud, please try back in a couple of hours.” T...

We’re now at a point where you can comfortably describe the Nintendo Switch as “mature.” It’s no longer a new device, but one several years into its life, with a robust and varied line-up of games available. There’s a good chance you picked up a Switch to play one of Nintendo’s tentpole franchises — whether that’s Super Mario, Animal Crossing, or Pokémon — but there are a lot of different kinds of experiences available on the tablet. That includes big social titles, classic games, and inventive indie releases. Heck, one of my favorite experiences this year has been relearning chess on the Switch. If you’re new to the Switch ecosystem, here are 10 great games to get you started. We’ve rounded up our favorite and most-used games, apps, and entertainment. Check out our app picks for iPhones, ...

Tesla’s new holiday update will finally give people the ability to use a new Boombox mode, which can broadcast custom audio on the outside of the car (hence the name). As is common with new Tesla features, Boombox combines real utility with lowbrow humor: owners can use fart and goat sounds in lieu of normal, boring honking sounds car horns usually make. The mode rolled out with a number of other updates as part of Tesla’s firmware 2020.48.26 update, and is something Tesla fans have eagerly anticipated. In the new mode, which can be seen at the timestamped section in the video below, several sounds are available for Tesla owners through the Toybox section they can use in place of a regular horn: goat baaing, applause, a little “tada” clip, someone speaking posh and, of course, the fart. [e...

The anticipated CyberPunk 2077 launch wasn’t just a disaster for gamers, but for the game’s investors, too. A lawsuit filed yesterday against CD Projekt, the company behind Cyberpunk, claims investors were misled about the game’s performance ahead of its release, causing a significant stock price drop and losses. CD Projekt allegedly failed to convey that the game was “virtually unplayable,” the lawsuit states, and instead marketed it as a success with a few issues that would go unnoticed by players. The plaintiff, Andrew Trampe, is looking to include other investors in the suit to turn it into a class action. Since the game’s launch earlier this month, it’s been plagued with bugs, prompting retailers and console makers to offer full refunds. GameStop is accepting returns, even if people o...

You’re the proud owner of a new 5G phone — congratulations! We’ve got some bad news, though: if you live in the US, 5G probably isn’t going to be the mind-bogglingly fast experience that you’ve been promised. For most regions, it’s just a little faster than the 4G speeds we’re used to using. But here’s the good news: 5G is going to get better, so if you have a 5G phone you may want to make sure your plan delivers it. If you got a phone recently, there’s a good chance it supports 5G. Pretty much every new phone in 2021 — with the exception of some budget models — will offer some form of 5G support. Whatever your preferred brand or operating system, 5G is coming your way soon if you don’t have it already. Your phone is ready for the next big thing, but what about your data plan? Across the b...

If you’re one of the lucky few who has snagged a PlayStation 5 since it launched in early November — congratulations. Securing a next-gen console, especially Sony’s, has been no easy feat, and there’s no telling when buying one won’t involve a mad online rush that’s basically no different than a chaotic lottery. If you did secure a PS5, you’re probably wondering what exactly you can play on it. After all, next-gen consoles rarely launch with rich libraries of new games. Instead, game console makers tend to reserve a handful of launch titles to hold over the early adopters until at least a year or so into the device’s life cycle, when the development of new titles really starts to pick up. The good news is that the new consoles from both Microsoft and Sony are backward compatible with the l...

Anyone flying into the United States from the United Kingdom will have to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before their flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. The agency cited concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus as the reason for the rule, which goes into effect Monday. The coronavirus, like all viruses, has regularly mutated as it has spread through the population. Most mutations don’t make a virus behave any differently, but this new variant, which emerged in the UK, does appear to spread more easily than other forms of the virus. It does not appear to make people sicker and does not seem to be more deadly, although researchers are still studying that question. Experts say the already authorized COVID-19 vaccines will likely still ...