IT General

When Conan O'Brien emerged onto the stage at the 2025 Oscars for his opening monologue, he did so in a rather unusual way: by crawling out of Demi Moore's spine in a morbid homage to Best Picture nominee The Substance. How else was he supposed to follow up Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's stunning performance of "Defying Gravity"?

After that bit of body horror, O'Brien delivered a classic Oscars opening monologue. "A Complete Unknown. A Real Pain. Nosferatu. These are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet."

The jokes were funny but not too mean. In fact, one could say O'Brien was a perfectly non-threatening choice for an Oscar ceremony shrouded in some controversy. Yes, there was a joke about Emilia Pérez's Karla Sofía Gascón, who was in attendance. "Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel," he said to uncertain cheers in the audience. And to Netflix, he added, "Netflix leads nominations with a total of 18 price increases."

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O'Brien also commented on the industry's most hot-button topic: AI. "We did not use AI to make this show," he said. "We would never do that. We used child labor. Hey, they're still people!"

SEE ALSO: 'The Brutalist' AI backlash, explained

In a moment of sincerity — the first of many throughout the night, I'm sure — O'Brien took time to honor the city of Los Angeles and the craftspeople who make the movies so magical.

And, of course, he concluded the monologue with a song-and-dance number featuring the sandworm from Dune: Part Two playing "Chopsticks" on the piano and a dancing Deadpool.

Kieran Culkin took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the 2025 Academy Awards for his role as Benji Kaplan in Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain.

SEE ALSO: How to watch 'A Real Pain': Jesse Eisenberg's second feature film is headed to streaming

In A Real Pain, Culkin and Eisenberg play an odd-couple cousin pairing on a trip around their grandmother's native Poland. As the pair navigate their own fraught relationship, they also connect with their family's history and what their grandmother experienced during the Holocaust.

Culkin's Oscar win for A Real Pain marks the end of a dominant awards season run, during which he also took home the BAFTA, the Critics Choice Award, the Golden Globe, and the SAG Award. He beat out fellow nominees Yura Borisov (Anora), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), and his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice).

Culkin opened his Oscar speech by singling out Strong's performance, saying, "By the way, Jeremy, you were amazing in The Apprentice."

After some censored swearing, Culkin added, "I'm not supposed to single anyone out; that's favoritism... but you were great."

But Strong wasn't the only person Culkin shouted out in his speech. In addition to thanking A Real Pain writer and director Jesse Eisenberg, he also told a story about his wife Jazz Charton. During his acceptance speech for Lead Actor in a Drama at the 2024 Emmys, he revealed that Charton had said they would have a third child if Culkin won the Emmy.

"Turns out, she said that because she didn't think I was going to win," he joked.

But that Emmys request wasn't the end of the saga. Culkin revealed that after the Emmys, he told Charton he really wanted four kids. Her response? "'I will give you four when you win an Oscar,'" Culkin recalled.

He concluded: "Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith, no pressure. I love you. I'm really sorry I did this again, and let's get cracking on those kids, what do you say?"

The stars of Wicked kicked off the 2025 Oscars with a fantastically jaw-dropping musical performance, confirming rumors that the two would be performing on Hollywood's biggest award stage.

Grande started off the show with an homage to The Wizard of Oz, singing "Over the Rainbow" in a glimmering red dress under a stunning rainbow-hued spotlight. Erivo, wearing a breathtaking white gown, then took over the mic to pour out a rendition of "Home," as the stage screens took viewers through the glimmering sights of Los Angeles.

SEE ALSO: 2025 Oscar nominations: See the full list

The two then joined each other at center stage to sing the film's finale number, "Defying Gravity," with Erivo taking the spotlight one more time to finish out the number. Her voice literally soared to the top of the venue as city lights sparkled behind the two stars, hands clasped together again at the number's finish.

Rounding out months of daring red carpet looks evoking Bob Dylan's eclectic wardrobe, Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet took to the 2025 Oscars red carpet in a more demure, pastel ensemble. The night's theme is "butter."

SEE ALSO: 2025 Oscar nominations: See the full list

The A Complete Unknown star could snag a historic win this evening, becoming the youngest Best Actor winner since Adrien Brody won for The Pianist in 2003 — Brody is also up for his role in The Brutalist.

Audiences clocked the actor's Easter-yellow outfit mere seconds after the star flashed across screens, posts flooding users' social media feeds as the popular and newly mustachioed actor stepped out in the custom leather Givenchy look. Reactions were mixed, but BTS fans joked he could be channeling the global superstars' 2022 radio hit, "Butter," and you know what? Sure, why not? It wouldn't be the strangest thing the actor pulled out for his Dylan-inspired campaign.

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According to the actor himself, he wanted to go for a "subtle look" on this year's red carpet.

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So, what do you think? Is Timmy smooth like butter, or is he pulling inspiration from the sands of Dune?

Imagine college students sitting around the campus lawn, chatting with friends and working on essays, all while their laptop gets power from the sun to recharge. That's a future Lenovo is working towards if its latest concept PC becomes a reality.

Lenovo's latest concept laptop is a bit of an odd duck. Its foldable display not only provides a super-tall vertical viewing area, but it can bend back to show slideshows, videos, and other content to people who are sitting across from you.

Lenovo has a history of showing off weird and interesting new product ideas at trade shows. Remember the laptop with the rollable display from a few years ago? This year at MWC it's doing the same thing, with a host of unique, fun, and downright silly ideas, some of which could inform designs and decisions for future products.

There are a few themes for Lenovo at MWC 2025. In classic Lenovo fashion, some of them have to do with finding ways to give you more screen real estate when you're using a laptop. Others have more to do with eco-friendliness, while others still, as you might expect, are built to take advantage of generative AI.

SEE ALSO: What to expect at MWC 2025 from Samsung, TCL, and more Give me more screen

The central theme to most of Lenovo's concept ideas has to do with getting more screen from a traditional laptop. Perhaps the most unique concept for that comes in the form of the ThinkBook Flip AI PC Concept, which might look like a normal laptop from the front but has a whole second screen that can fold up from behind the first one. Essentially, that turns the top of your laptop screen into a hinge that connects the two sides of the screen. When folded out, the screen has a massive 18.1-inch display – and while it’s a little unsteady on a table, that could be fixed with a little kickstand or something.

Credit: Christian de Looper

The fold-out display can also be used in other ways. For example, it can be used as a second screen to show others what you're viewing on your laptop, or it allows you to use the laptop as a tablet when closed.

It wasn't the only screen extension concept that Lenovo showed off. The company also showed off a dual-screen attachment that connects to its Magic Bay connector. The attachment basically adds two additional screens to the laptop, with one on either side of your main laptop screen. A smaller version of this concept adds one 8-inch display to the side of the screen, perfect for things like chat apps.

A Tamagotchi on your laptop

My personal favorite concept, however, had nothing to do with getting more display space from your laptop. Instead, it leverages the Magic Bay connector used for that dual-screen accessory to add a tiny companion device called Tiko to the top of your screen.

Credit: Christian de Looper

So what can Tiko do besides just look cute? Well, not a whole lot – looking cute is kind of the point. But it can use your webcam to interact with you when you do things like wave at it or give it a thumbs up.

However, if you're looking for usefulness, perhaps more appropriate is the Tico Pro accessory. This accessory eliminates the normal Tico device's cuteness and shows always-on information through widgets on the screen. It can display a clock or calendar events, but it can also be used as a teleprompter or to show notes for a meeting.

Other concept

Other Lenovo concepts revolved around different ideas. For example, the company showed off a laptop with a solar panel on the lid, which it says is among the most power-efficient solar panels and can give you two hours of video playback after charging. There are challenges associated with this idea, like heat, especially if you put your laptop in direct sunlight, which can impact its longevity and performance, but it's still a cool way to add some eco-friendliness to a laptop.

Credit: Christian de Looper

Last but not least, Lenovo also continued to show off 3D screens. However, new for this year is the fact that it has developed a technology that allows you to place both 3D and 2D content on the screen at the same time. That means that unless you're viewing 3D content, the screen will just look like a normal display. But with 3D content on the screen, it will add more depth to that content. 3D and 2D content can be on the screen at the same time, so you can have a window of something in 3D alongside all your other normal 2D windows.

Regardless of if any of these concepts make it to consumer products, I’m glad Lenovo is still showing off its experiments. I just wish more companies were willing to do so

Linux Mint is a stable, reliable, and user-friendly Linux distro that provides a smooth transition for Windows users coming to Linux. But despite giving it several honest tries, I just don't seem to like it. Here's why Linux Mint and I just don't click, despite its objective merits.

It finally happened.

After over two decades of being a "good guy," or "babyface" in wrestling lingo, WWE Superstar and Hollywood actor John Cena turned "heel," or became the "bad guy."

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Cena is currently on his pro wrestling retirement tour. The 13-time WWE champion and former face of the company announced last year that 2025 would be his final year of actively performing in-ring.

It doesn't seem like any WWE fan assumed that the near-lifelong babyface would turn bad in his final year of wrestling. But he did last night, attacking his now-former friend Cody Rhodes.

The internet erupted with shock, excitement, and, of course, memes.

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At WWE Elimination Chamber on Saturday night, Cena had just won the six-man cage match to determine who would face WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Rhodes is the current face of the company and the top "good guy." Cena and Rhodes are supposedly friends. Rhodes came out at the end of the show to congratulate Cena on winning the match, signifying a friendly competitive matchup was in store at the main event of WrestleMania.

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However, The Rock, who is currently a bad guy in the WWE and has been feuding with Cody Rhodes, interrupted. Rhodes and The Rock exchanged words. And then Cena turned on Rhodes, attacking him multiple times while rapper and special guest Travis Scott and The Rock joined in on the beat down.

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Cena debuted for the WWE in 2002 where he briefly played the role of a rookie babyface. He had a short run as a heel with his rapping Thuganomics gimmick. However, aside from that, Cena has spent the past 20+ years as a fan favorite "good guy" with catchphrases such as "Never Give Up."

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John Cena has been especially beloved by children, who make up a large portion of his fan base. In fact, his popularity with the youth had been a major reason why WWE refused to turn him heel for the majority of his career. Cena actually holds the Guinness World Record for granting the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

And you better believe the internet had memes about how heel John Cena will likely affect his young fandom.

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There were also memes about Cena's now infamous announcement in 2011 after the end of a WWE pay-per-view informing the crowd of Osama bin Laden being "compromised to a permanent end."

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And memes referencing how John Cena follows nearly 1 million people on X.

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For longtime fans, Cena's heel turn seems quite analogous to Hulk Hogan's heel turn in the 90s. Hogan had spent over a decade playing the babyface role with his Hulkamania gimmick before finally turning heel in 1996 under his "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan persona. Interestingly, both The Rock and John Cena, who have now joined forces as heels, previously left WWE full-time to pursue successful acting careers in Hollywood.

Cena and Rock attacked Cody. Cody Rhodes needs to call backup

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— Fightful Wrestling (@fightful.com) March 1, 2025 at 11:08 PM

After WWE Elimination Chamber went off the air, Cena appeared at the post-show press conference where he simply dropped the mic and left. So we'll have to wait to hear his explanation as to why he turned bad.

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But, be sure, when he does explain, the internet will have plenty to say about it.

Anyone who has stepped into the world of Linux knows it's not a singular operating system like Windows or Mac. There are literally hundreds of Linux distributions (distros), from Ubuntu to Void Linux. So, what's the reason behind this overwhelming variety?

The devil might be putting in overtime, but the Saturday Night Live writers? They're basically on a Red Bull IV drip. With less than 24 hours to work with, the SNL team whipped up a cold open roasting the now-infamous White House “meeting” between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

And yes, “meeting” is in quotes because what went down was less of a diplomatic sit-down and more of an awkward, live-streamed humiliation ritual. Trump and Vice President JD Vance used the actual press conference as an opportunity to berate Zelenskyy — for, you know, the minor inconvenience of having his country invaded by Russia. Naturally, SNL took the absurdity and cranked it up to 11.

The cold open even includes Mike Myers, who crashed the meeting as none other than Elon Musk — chainsaw in hand, delivering a performance so unhinged it made the whole thing feel like a fever dream.

Blue Ghost, an unmanned spacecraft sent by the Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, has just landed on the moon.

The lunar landing occurred on Sunday, marking the second-ever time a private company landed on the moon. Blue Ghost arrived at 8:34am GMT on the moon's Earth-facing side by an ancient volcanic formation in Mare Crisium known as Mons Latreille.

Blue Ghost's 2.8 million mile journey began on January 15 when it launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Blue Ghost's moon landing marks just the second time ever that a private U.S. company has completed such a mission. It also marks the second time a U.S. spacecraft had landed on the moon since 1972, with the touch down of the manned Apollo 17 mission.

The first in both those categories came from the company Intuitive Machines, which completed the first private moon landing in February of 2024.

However, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost achieved something that Intuitive Machines failed at. When the latter landed on the moon last year, the spacecraft toppled over. Blue Ghost, however, did not. Firefly Aerospace's spacecraft landed upright.

According to the Guardian, the Firefly crew "erupted in cheers" upon the company's CEO Jason Kim announcing that Blue Ghost was “stable and upright”.

Blue Ghost was launched as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. NASA aims to cut costs using spacecrafts created in the private sector in order to support its Artemis mission, which looks to once again land astronauts on the moon sometime by the end of the decade.

NASA equipped the lunar lander with nearly a dozen scientific instruments and experiments, such as a lunar soil analyzer and a test to check if existing satellite navigation systems can be used to navigate the moon. Blue Ghost will also document and photograph an eclipse.

Two other private companies currently have lunar landers en route to the moon, one of which is from Intuitive Machines as it tries again for an upright landing.

Ed Norton makes the argument that Sheldon Mopes, from Death to Smoochy is quite similar to his Oscar-nominated character, Pete Seeger, from A Complete Unknown.

Working from the comfort of my home is a luxury, but not one that doesn’t have its worries. No matter how good your cellular provider is, unexpected interruptions happen from time to time. An unlimited data plan has been an absolute lifesaver.

YouTube Music's Supermix is a one-stop playlist that can help you refresh your music library. But what is this playlist, how can you tune it, and is it better than Spotify's Discover Weekly playlist?

TL;DR: Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro for only A$24 through 30 March — that’s a 92% discount for Mashable readers.

If you thought AI would only be a fad, take a look at Microsoft. As we speak (or read?), they’re making computers infused with Microsoft Copilot, their latest AI technology. But something even cooler? You don’t have to get a new device to get Copilot — just upgrade to Windows 11.

And, if you’re going for it, go all the way and get the Pro version with the most features, like remote desktop access and hard drive encryption. We have a deal on Windows 11 Pro keys for only A$24 (reg. A$319), and each upgrades two compatible PCs.

AI in Windows 11

We realize you can use AI chatbots, so what makes Windows Copilot special? For one, Copilot is built using a custom version of GPT-4, so it’s like getting the premium version of ChatGPT for free.

There are also many perks of having Copilot built into your PC:

• Ask it to change system settings instead of finding them yourself

• Summarize web pages without having to ‘copy and paste’

• Have it set reminders, schedule meetings, or draft emails

Pro-specific features

Already have Windows 11 Home, but curious about what Pro delivers? Remote desktop access becomes super handy in a pinch, as does BitLocker device encryption in case of device loss or theft. You’ll also get Azure AD, Hyper-V, and Windows Sandbox for other professional testing and tasks.

Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro for A$24 (reg. A$319) until 30 March at 11:59 p.m. PT. No coupon is needed to get this discount.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: InterPlein Microsoft Windows 11 Pro A$24.00
A$319.00 Save A$295.00 Get Deal

Teleperformance SE, the largest call center operator on the planet, has come up with a way to mask the fact it operates in India for customers calling for support with their latest iPhone or Galaxy device.

In a new report from Bloomberg, Teleperformance shared that it invested $13 million in Sanas, an AI startup. Sanas has created technology that focuses on "reducing accent-based discrimination." As Teleperformance puts it, the technology can "neutralize" accents.

SEE ALSO: Meta plans to launch standalone Meta AI app. OpenAI's Sam Altman fires back.

“When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard to hear, to understand,” Teleperformance Deputy Chief Executive Officer Thomas Mackenbrock told Bloomberg in an interview. Mackenbrock said that the AI technology can “neutralize the accent of the Indian speaker with zero latency."

Sanas' accent-neutralizing technology currently works on Indian and Filipino accents. The company says that it's working on deploying it for other accents, such as those found in Latin America.

The AI startup also provides a background noise removal feature in order to further mask any sort of ambient noise emanating from the call center employees' location that may give away where they are based.

Teleperformance said that it's also using AI tools for more common AI tasks, such as transcribing calls and coaching new employees. The company announced it would invest a further $104 million in AI during an investor call.

When shopping for a Linux mini PC, it’s important to consider several key factors, including hardware specifications, compatibility with Linux, and manufacturer support. Let’s break down those factors to help you make an informed decision.

I've owned a Samsung phone for a year now and never bothered to give Bixby a try. Bixby is the butt of jokes, and I knew it wouldn't be any good. Well, what I knew was wrong.

You’re in a nice restaurant with your beloved; perhaps both of you are enjoying a lovely steak. After a while, you raise your hand and ask the waiter for the bill. What could go wrong, right? Except you realize you left your wallet at home.