IT General

The Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards have had their say. Now it's time for the Oscars to determine the best cinematic achievements of 2025. This morning in a live presentation from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Academy Award nominee Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman announced the nominations for the 98th Academy Awards.

While fans of Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Marty Supreme had plenty of reason to celebrate, Wicked fans have reason to battle cry. And that's not all.

Who got snubbed at the Oscars 2026? Let's get into it.

SEE ALSO: 2026 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees Oscar snubbed: Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo Ariana Grande is Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in "Wicked: For Good." Credit: Universal Studios

Last year, Wicked earned 10 Oscar nominations, including nods for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as magical frenemies Galinda and Elphaba. But alas, neither won. With the direct sequel Wicked: For Good, theater kids across the U.S. were rooting for these bold belters to get the gold. To our utter shock, Wicked: For Good got zero Academy Award nominations. Not even the impressive costumes or production design scored love from the Academy. And apparently the new songs ("No Place Like Home" and "Girl in the Bubble") couldn't compete against the record-breaking force of Sinners ("I Lied to You") and Kpop Demon Hunters ("Golden").

SEE ALSO: After the Oscars, we hold space for 'Wicked' Oscar snubbed: Paul Mescal Paul Mescal stars as William Shakespeare in "Hamnet." Credit: Agata Grzybowska / Focus Features

Chloé Zhao's Hamnet garnered eight Oscar nominations, including Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture. But Paul Mescal, who played a heartbroken William Shakespeare opposite Oscar-nominated Jessie Buckley, got nothing. As big fans of Mescal's gut-wrenching Sad Boy skills, we're a bit stunned.

Sure, in my review out of TIFF, I warned that Hamnet's nuanced portrait of parental grief wasn't the kind of high drama that Oscar reels favor. But with Mescal's poignant "to be or not to be" — and the ache in how he delivered the line "Where is he?" — Mashable's Entertainment team felt certain Mescal was sitting pretty for Oscar night.

Featured Video For You Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley reveal the real surprise in 'Hamnet' Oscar snubbed: Guillermo del Toro Oscar Issac as Victor Frankenstein in "Frankenstein." Credit: Ken Woroner / Netflix

After decades of dreaming, monster-loving moviemaker Guillermo del Toro delivered his opus with a unique and haunting Frankenstein. While this bold Netflix release did score nine nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (both of which would go to del Toro), this visionary helmer did not get the Best Director nod. If you hear a harrowing bellow outside your window, it's me, wailing at this cinema injustice. I called Frankenstein del Toro's masterpiece, and I stand by it.

Oscar snubbed: Chase Infiniti Chase Infiniti and Regina Hall get tense in "One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

One Battle After Another earned this incredible ingénue nominations for the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs. Yet the Academy has ignored Chase Infiniti. Sure, One Battle After Another isn't hurting for accolades, having scored 13 nominations, including Best Picture and noms for stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Teyana Taylor. But those acting honors make Infiniti's absence hit all the harder, because this rising star managed to stand up onscreen to DiCaprio and Penn, both major stars going hard in intense scenes. In the face of that challenge, Infiniti didn't melt. She didn't match them; she outshone them, just as her character in the film did!

Oscar snubbed: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Credit: Copyright_©Koyoharu Gotoge_SHUEISHA, Aniplex, ufotable

The Oscars' Best Animated Feature lineup — Arco, Elio, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and Zootopia 2 — is stacked, but the absence of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle feels glaring. The film wasn't just a hit; it was a full-on cultural moment, pulling in over $722 million worldwide and reminding everyone how mainstream anime has become. And with Disney already represented by Zootopia 2, it's hard not to question why the Academy made room for a second Disney slot with the deeply mid Elio instead of recognizing the scale — and impact — of Infinity Castle. — Crystal Bell, Culture Editor

Oscar snubbed: No Other Choice Lee Byung-hun in "No Other Choice." Credit: BFI London Film Festival

Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice got nothing! It was one of the best films of 2026, critically acclaimed and more than worthy of Oscar nods, notably for star Lee Byung-hun's slowly unraveling performance. The biting social satire, which takes aim at the hyper-competitive capitalist market, gained nominations at the Golden Globes for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Picture (Non-English Language), and Best Actor (Musical or Comedy). No Other Choice almost made to the Oscars; it was the shortlisted South Korean entry for the Best International Feature category. Yet this incredible film was nowhere to be seen during Wednesday's Oscars nominations announcement. Make it make sense. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

How to watch: The 98th Oscars airs live on March 15 on ABC and Hulu.

Sometimes I want to test out Python statistical libraries, but I can't find any datasets. Fortunately, it's easy to get around that by generating some of my own. Here's how I do it.

Ryan Coogler's Sinners has just hit an Oscars record out of the park.

The lauded genre-bending vampire film starring Michael B. Jordan has landed a whopping 16 Academy Award nominations, announced in a ceremony on Thursday morning.

Per the New York Times, Sinners beat the three previous record-holders, which held 14 nominations each: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016).

Featured Video For You Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan on 'Sinners' unique spin on vampirism

Fellow nominees One Battle After Another landed 13 nods, Marty Supreme earned nine, and Hamnet got seven nominations.

So, what Oscars is Sinners up for?

Beyond the all-important Best Picture, Coogler is nominated for Best Directing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay).

Jordan is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role alongside Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Also in the acting realm, Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku are nominated for Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively.

SEE ALSO: 2026 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees

Production and design nominations for Sinners include Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Production Design. The film is also up for Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Casting, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.

Plus, Ludwig Göransson is nominated for Best Music (Original Score) and, along with Raphael Saadiq, Best Music (Original Song) for "I Lied to You."

How to watch: The 98th Oscars airs live on March 15 on ABC and Hulu. Check out the whole list of 2026 Oscar nominees — and who got snubbed?

After months of predictions, the nominations for the 2026 Oscars are live. While the true cinephiles will scour the list looking for snubs, the biggest headlines will come from the Best Picture category. Winning Best Picture is cinema’s version of the Super Bowl. It’s the most sought-after prize in cinema, and one of these 10 films will take it home on March 15, 2026. For now, catch up on the movies you missed and find out how to stream all 10 Best Picture nominees. Some of the streaming services you'll need to watch these movies include Netflix, HBO Max, and Peacock.

Sometimes, you can create an automation in Home Assistant, and it will work perfectly the first time. Sadly, this isn't always the case. If your automation isn't working as expected, you may be able to find the problem faster using traces.

It’s common knowledge that many apps use algorithms these days. However, years before “For You” timelines, Spotify subscribers were already complaining about the algorithm. Well, the music service is finally giving you the keys to its recommendation engine with Prompted Playlists.

For years, Spotify's recommendation engine has felt like a mind reader. It quietly tracks what you play, skip, save, and replay, then serves up Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and an endless stream of algorithmically generated playlists designed to know your taste better than you know it yourself.

With its new feature, Prompted Playlist, Spotify is experimenting with a different idea: What if users didn't just receive recommendations, but actively shaped them?

Prompted Playlist, now launching for Spotify users in the U.S., is a new way to create playlists using personalized prompts, allowing listeners to guide Spotify's algorithm with greater intent and context. Instead of starting with a blank playlist or relying entirely on automated suggestions, users can describe what they want and let Spotify build from there.

It's a subtle shift, but one built around the idea of less passive consumption and more collaboration.

How Spotify's Prompted Playlist works

At its core, Prompted Playlist lets users generate playlists by entering a written prompt — anything from a mood or activity to a more imaginative musical direction. Think: "moody indie tracks for a rainy Sunday," "upbeat pop for a post-work walk," or even, "What would my listening look like if I were raised in Argentina?"

Credit: Spotify

What sets the feature apart is what happens behind the scenes. Prompted Playlist draws from a user's entire Spotify listening history, not just recent habits or popular tracks, pulling in years of data — from teenage emo phases to current hyperpop obsessions — to shape something that feels as personal and maleable as your own tastes.

Users can also choose to refresh playlists daily or weekly, allowing them to evolve over time as new music is released, trends shift, and listening habits change, rather than going stale after a few plays.

How is Promptd Playlist any different than Spotify's AI Playlist feature?

At first glance, Prompted Playlist may sound similar to Spotify's existing AI Playlist, which also lets users generate playlists with written prompts. But the two features are built for different kinds of listening and different relationships with the algorithm.

AI Playlist is largely about instant creation, whereas Prompted Playlist is designed to evolve over time.

According to Spotify, Prompted Playlist draws not only on prompt-based input but also on world knowledge, cultural relevance, and the full depth of a listener's platform history. In practice, that means the system matches keywords and interprets context.

When I asked Prompted Playlist to create a reading playlist to accompany This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska, I specified that I wanted something mystical and soft, serene, with elements of Slavic folklore. As the playlist generated, Spotify surfaced its process in real-time, displaying notes like "analyzing cultural motifs" and "filtering for instrumental sound."

The result was a playlist titled "Slavic Folklore Reading Mix" that leaned heavily on atmospheric, instrumental tracks, alongside classical selections like Tchaikovsky's "Mélodie, Op. 42 No. 3." The emphasis on texture over lyrics made it well-suited for reading, while the Eastern European influences suggested the system was interpreting cultural tone.

Credit: Spotify

Prompted Playlist's access to a listener's full platform history also opens the door to more personalized experiments. When I asked it to generate a playlist featuring the first 25 songs I ever listened to on Spotify, arranged in chronological order, it did exactly that, pulling from my own listening data. (For the record, the first song I ever played on my account on Sept. 12, 2011, was Cher Lloyd's "Swagger Jagger," which feels, in retrospect, deeply on brand.)

How do I make a Prompted Playlist on Spotify?

In the Spotify app, users can start by navigating to the Create Playlist option, where Prompted Playlist will appear as a new choice. From there, Spotify asks for a written prompt describing what you’re looking for — whether that's a mood, activity, aesthetic, or specific listening context.

First step: Navigate to "Create Playlist" on the app and select "Prompted Playlist" Credit: Crystal Bell / Mashable Next step: Enter your prompt Credit: Crystal Bell / Mashable

Once the prompt is submitted, Spotify generates a playlist in real-time, showing brief notes about how it's interpreting your request. After the playlist is created, users can choose to schedule automatic refreshes, setting it to update daily or weekly so the playlist continues to evolve with new music and changing tastes.

Now let Prompted Playlist cook. Credit: Crystal Bell / Mashable And here's your playlist! Credit: Crystal Bell / Mashable

The playlist can also be edited like any other Spotify playlist: tracks can be removed, reordered, or saved, and those interactions help fine-tune future updates.

TL;DR: The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox gaming headset is currently on sale for $99.99 at Amazon. That's down from its usual $199.99 price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Razer Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Headset $99.99 at Razer
$199.99 Save $100.00 Get Deal

Razer doesn’t often slash prices this aggressively, especially on its premium esports-focused gear, which makes this deal on its BlackShark V2 Pro headset stand out all the more. As of Jan. 22, the Xbox-compatible version of the wireless headset has dropped to $99.99 at Amazon, marking a 50% discount on a headset built for competitive play and marathon gaming sessions.

To clarify, this Xbox-compatible version of the BlackShark V2 Pro headset is still fully usable on other platforms — PS5, the new Nintendo Switch 2, gaming PCs, and even Macs. Compared to the PlayStation-licensed model, also on sale for $99.99 and usable on those systems, you’re essentially getting added Xbox compatibility at no extra cost.

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Designed with esports in mind, the BlackShark V2 Pro features Razer’s TriForce Titanium 50mm drivers, which separate highs, mids, and lows for clearer positional audio. Whether you’re tracking footsteps in Call of Duty or getting lost in a story-heavy RPG like Baldur's Gate 3, the sound profile promises to stay punchy without overwhelming your ears. The detachable HyperClear Super Wideband mic is another highlight, capturing voice with broadcast-like clarity that makes comms sound crisp rather than compressed.

Comfort has been a big priority of Razer here, too. The closed-back, noise-isolating earcups use ultra-soft memory foam that molds to your head, making the headset easy to wear for hours at a time — even with glasses. 

On the wireless front, Razer’s HyperSpeed 2.4GHz connection should keep latency low, while Bluetooth support adds flexibility across devices. The battery life looks excellent, giving you up to 70 hours on a single charge (or up to 48 hours when used on Xbox).

If you’re also after a visual upgrade to your gaming setup as well, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 curved gaming monitor is at its lowest-ever price on Amazon. For something more budget-friendly, the LG Ultragear curved gaming monitor is going for $199.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet Journey Together 8 Booster Pack Lot is down to $64.45 at Amazon. This deal saves you $16 off its $79.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokemon Company Pokemon TCG Scarlet & Violet: Journey Together 8 Booster Pack Lot $64.45 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $15.54   Get Deal

Amazon has quietly been rolling out some new Pokémon TCG deals for collections and premium boxes, but this latest deal is perfect if you just want to stock up on a particular set. As of Jan. 22, the Journey Together 8 Booster Pack Lot has dropped to $64.45, marking a 19% discount on one of the most popular Scarlet & Violet-era expansions. 

This bundle includes eight sealed booster packs, each containing 10 cards, for a total of 80 cards pulled directly from the Journey Together set. With individual Journey Together boosters selling for $15 on Amazon (a very expensive price for single boosters), you’ll save around $55 compared to buying eight individual — at a saving of just under $7 per pack. 

Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Thanks for signing up!

The deal also comes with free delivery, with faster shipping available depending on location, and will likely sell out fast among keen trading card collectors. Released in March 2025, multi-pack products with Journey Together boosters have become rarer with the release of newer expansions and the launch of the Mega Evolution set. That’s made what were already some valuable chase cards — Lillie’s Clefairy ex, Salamance ex, N’s Zoroark ex, and Iono’s Bellibolt ex — just as expensive and worth pulling as ever.

Recently, this set has only been reliably available at a reasonable price as part of collections, bundled with packs of other expansions. If you’ve been eager for a new chance to pull some of its valuable chase cards, now’s the time. 

For more Pokémon TCG deals, you can still get $100 off the Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection. You can also buy the Pokémon TCG’s Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex League Battle Deck for only $19.93.

Credit: Philipp Klinger

Last week I noted that most companies are either already hacked or could easily be hacked -- and, when they have anything worth stealing, are probably already owned by multiple APT (advanced persistent threat) groups.

The pros and cons of Linux Mint 17, from 5-year support to the fact that it won't run on ARM-based tablets Dek:  The pros and cons of Linux Mint 17, from 5-year support to the fact that it won't run on ARM-based tablets External Source:  networkworld.com Redirect Unpublished Slideshow to:  http://www.networkworld.com/slideshow/163305

Brian Stevens, the former CTO for Red Hat, is now managing Google Cloud. This move will provide more cloud leadership at Google, but it also leaves questions about what's happening at Red Hat.

The collection and analysis of big data holds great promise, but may also lead some companies to create profiles of consumers leading to discrimination, the chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Monday.

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The idea of distributed, componentized applications goes back a long way. Most notoriously, it emerged in the form of the SOA (service-oriented architecture) trend that peaked eight yeas ago. Now, it's back -- as microservices architecture.

Credit: Oleksiy Fedorov